State Department Issues Travel Warning for American Visiting Israel
Image by Getty Images
The U.S. State Department issued an updated travel warning for Americans visiting Israel.
“The security environment remains complex in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and U.S. citizens need to be aware of the continuing risks of travel to these areas,” the warning issued Monday said.
The warning also states,”Over three million foreign citizens, including hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens, safely visit Israel and the West Bank each year for study, tourism, and business. The Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority make considerable efforts to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations.”
It recommends that U.S. citizens visiting the region take into consideration the rules for U.S. government employees for their travel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Among the rules, which have been in place in recent years, U.S. government personnel are not permitted to conduct official or personal travel to the Gaza Strip and are restricted from most personal travel to the West Bank, while travel for official business is done with special security arrangements. The government employees also are not permitted to use any public buses.
Restrictions that appear new require U.S. government personnel to notify the Tel Aviv embassy’s regional security officer before traveling in the areas of Israel surrounding Gaza and south of Beersheva, as well as to the Golan Heights.
The warning also suggests that “in light of the threat of rocket or missile attacks, visitors and U.S. citizens living in Israel should also familiarize themselves with the location of the nearest bomb shelter (often referred to as a secure or protected room). ”
The warning said that personal safety conditions in major metropolitan areas of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Haifa and their surrounding regions, are comparable to or better than those in other major global cities.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
