US denies senior Israeli officials entrance visas

Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed on Tuesday that senior Israeli security personnel, including Mossad and Shabak officers, have been denied an entrance visa to the US.
 
    "A number of officials did not get visas despite planning to discuss a weapons’ deal based on a strategic agreement signed between Washington and Tel-Aviv. The deal is now expected to be cancelled because officials were banned from entering the US," Maariv quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.
 
According to the report, in the past 12 months there have been “hundreds of cases” that employees from the Israeli intelligence agencies have been denied visas to the US.
 
It also said that requests for entrance visas by 25 senior Israeli officials and tens of Mossad and Shabak spay agents have been denied so far.
 
The report noted that senior Israeli officials have been told by US consular officials that they could not step foot on the US soil.
 
"We do not know the reason behind the new American policy, but we are persuaded that the US is putting obstacles before Israeli security officials to undermine their entrance to its soil," the newspaper quoted another senior security official as saying.