Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE84876
2009-08-14 15:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

TRAVEL WARNING - ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK, AND

Tags:  CASC PTER AMGT ASEC IS GZ WE 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 084876 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PTER AMGT ASEC IS GZ WE
SUBJECT: TRAVEL WARNING - ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK, AND
GAZA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 084876

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PTER AMGT ASEC IS GZ WE
SUBJECT: TRAVEL WARNING - ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK, AND
GAZA


1. The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the
risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip, and about threats to themselves and to U.S.
interests in those locations. The Department of State
urges U.S. citizens to remain mindful of security
factors when planning travel to Israel and the West Bank
and to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip. This warning
replaces the Travel Warning issued January 15, 2009, to
update information on the general security environment
in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

--------------
The Gaza Strip and Southern Israel
--------------


2. The State Department strongly urges that American
citizens refrain from all travel to the Gaza Strip.
This recommendation has been in effect since the deadly
roadside bombing of a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza in
October 2003. It applies to all Americans, including
journalists and aid workers. American citizens should
be aware that as a consequence of a longstanding
prohibition on travel by U.S. Government employees into
the Gaza Strip, the ability of consular staff to offer
timely assistance to U.S. citizens there is extremely
limited.


3. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strictly controls
travel within the area of the crossing points between
Israel and the Gaza Strip, and has essentially sealed
the border. The security environment within Gaza and
along its borders, including its border with Egypt and
its seacoast, is dangerous and can change at any time.


4. From December 27, 2008, through January 17, 2009,
the IDF conducted a major military operation in Gaza
that included aerial and naval strikes, followed by
large-scale ground operations. Israel and Hamas, a
State Department-designated foreign terrorist
organization that violently seized power in Gaza in June
2007, declared separate truces to end the fighting.
Occasional small clashes continue to occur along the
border. Rockets and mortars are still being fired into
Israel from Gaza, and the IDF continues to conduct
military operations inside Gaza, including airstrikes.
The IDF has also declared an exclusion zone along the
border with Israel and has taken lethal measures against

individuals who enter it.


5. In the past, some rockets have travelled more than
40 km and landed as far north as Yavne and Gadera and as
far east as Beersheva. As a result of possible IDF
military operations in Gaza and the ever-present risk of
rocket and mortar attacks into Israel from Gaza, U.S.
Government personnel travelling in the vicinity of the
Gaza Strip border, to include the city of Sderot,
require approval from the Embassy's Regional Security
Office.

--------------
The West Bank
--------------


6. The security environment in the West Bank has
improved markedly since June 2007, with a significant
increase in the number of trained Palestinian Authority
security forces deployed to urban areas such as Jericho,
Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jenin. Nonetheless,
demonstrations and violent incidents can occur without
warning. Vehicles have also been the target of rocks,
Molotov cocktails and gunfire on West Bank roads. The
Department of State urges Americans to exercise caution

STATE 00084876 002 OF 004


when traveling to the West Bank.


7. The IDF continues to carry out security operations
in the West Bank. Israeli security operations can occur
at any time, including arrest raids to arrest terrorist
suspects that lead to disturbances and violence.
Americans can be caught in the middle of potentially
dangerous situations. Some Americans involved in
demonstrations and other such activities in the West
Bank have become involved in confrontations with Israeli
settlers and the IDF. The State Department recommends
that Americans, for their own safety, avoid
demonstrations.


8. All those who pass through the West Bank should
exercise particular care when approaching and transiting
Israeli military checkpoints. Travelers should be aware
that they might encounter delays and difficulties, and
might even be denied passage through a checkpoint.
American citizens should be aware that the ability of
consular staff to offer timely assistance to U.S.
citizens in the West Bank is limited.

-------------- --------------
Travel Restrictions for U.S. Government Personnel
-------------- --------------


9. American U.S. Government personnel travel
extensively throughout the West Bank to carry out their
official duties. USG personnel on official business
travel more freely in the cities of Jericho, Ramallah,
Bethlehem and Jenin due to the improved security
situation there. Personal travel in the West Bank for
U.S. Government personnel and their dependents is not
allowed except for limited mission-approved purposes and
in the areas described below. U.S. government personnel
and family members are permitted to travel to Jericho,
or to transit through the West Bank by using routes 1
and 90 to reach the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge, or the
Dead Sea coast near Ein Gedi and Masada. They are also
permitted to travel north on Route 90 from the
Allenby/King Hussein Bridge to the Sea of Galilee. Use
of these routes is approved for transit purposes during
daylight hours, with stops permitted at only Qumran
National Park off Route 90 by the Dead Sea. Each
transit requires prior notification to the Consulate
General's security office. Personal travel by U.S.
Government personnel and family members to Jericho takes
place only on certain designated days and requires prior
notification. U.S. Government personnel and family
members are permitted both official and personal travel
on Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem without prior
notification, during daylight hours only.

--------------
General Safety and Security
--------------

10. Israeli authorities remain concerned about the
continuing threat of terrorist attacks. Two fatal
bulldozer attacks on civilians in July 2008 and a March
2008 shooting, all in Jerusalem, and a February 2008
bombing in Dimona are reminders of the ongoing
precariousness of the security environment.


11. In early January 2009, short-range rockets were
fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.


12. American citizens are cautioned that a greater
danger may exist around restaurants, businesses, and
other places associated with U.S. interests and/or
located near U.S. official buildings, such as the U.S.
Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in
Jerusalem. American citizens are also urged to exercise
a high degree of caution and to use common sense when
patronizing restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, malls,
places of worship, and theaters, especially during peak
hours. Large crowds and public gatherings have been

STATE 00084876 003 OF 004


targeted by terrorists in the past and should be avoided
to the extent practicable. American citizens should
take into consideration that public buses, trains, and
their respective terminals are "off-limits" to U.S.
Government personnel. U.S. Government personnel have
been directed to avoid protests and demonstrations.
Personnel have also been urged to maintain a high level
of vigilance and situational awareness at all times.


13. The State Department urges American citizens to
remain vigilant while traveling throughout Jerusalem,
especially within the commercial and downtown areas of
West Jerusalem and the city center. Spontaneous or
planned protests within the Old City are possible,
especially after Friday prayers. Some of these protests
have led to violent clashes. The Old City of Jerusalem
is off-limits to U.S. Government personnel and their
family members after dark during the entire week and
between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays.

--------------
Entry/Exit Difficulties
--------------


14. The Government of Israel considers American
citizens who also hold Israeli citizenship or have a
claim to such dual nationality to be Israeli citizens
for immigration and other legal purposes. For example,
an American citizen child of an Israeli parent will be
considered an Israeli citizen by Israeli immigration
officials and Israeli law will apply to the child's
travel to, and departure from, Israel.


15. American citizens whom Israeli authorities suspect
of being of Arab or Muslim origin are likely to face
additional, often time-consuming, and probing
questioning by immigration and border authorities, or
may even be denied entry into Israel. If they are
determined by Israeli authorities to have a claim to
residency status in the West Bank or Gaza, or to have a
claim to a Palestinian identification number, such
American citizens may be required by the Government of
Israel to use a Palestinian Authority travel document to
transit Israel to enter the West Bank or Gaza. Such a
determination could be made for American citizens if
they or their immediate family members or grandparents
were born in the West Bank or Gaza, currently reside
there, or lived there for any appreciable amount of
time.


16. American citizens who hold a Palestinian Authority
ID, as well as persons judged by the Israeli authorities
to have claim to a Palestinian Authority ID, will be
considered subject to Israeli law and to regulations
that Israel applies to residents of the West Bank and
Gaza, regardless of the fact that they hold U.S.
citizenship. A Palestinian ID number might be active or
inactive. If active, the Government of Israel may stamp
the Palestinian Identification Number in the U.S.
passport, and the American citizen may be required to
obtain Palestinian Authority travel documents prior to
departing Israel. In addition, American citizens having
or eligible for a Palestinian Authority ID who entered
Israel via Ben Gurion Airport might be required to
depart via the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Upon arrival,
such persons may wish to consider asking Israeli
immigration authorities from where they will be required
to depart. Additionally, American citizens who have (or
who are eligible to receive) a Palestinian Authority
Identification Number are likely to be refused entry to
Israel via Ben Gurion Airport and told that they must
enter Israel from Jordan via the Allenby (also known as
King Hussein) Bridge.


17. In June 2009, the Israeli government began
selectively limiting certain travelers to either the
occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, or to

STATE 00084876 004 OF 004


Israel and Jerusalem. To date, the Israeli government
has not provided information about which categories of
travelers can expect to be subject to these
restrictions. Nonetheless, Israeli border officials at
Ben Gurion Airport began requiring certain travelers to
sign a form that states s/he is not allowed to enter
territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority
unless s/he obtains advance authorization from the
Israeli "Territory Actions Coordinator," and that
violating this restriction may result in the traveler
being deported from Israel and barred from entry for up
to 10 years. At the Allenby Bridge crossing, as well as
at Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli border officials also
began using a new entry stamp for certain travelers that
states "Palestinian Authority Only." Since travelers
entering via the Allenby crossing must transit Israeli
checkpoints and Israeli-controlled territory to reach
Jerusalem or Gaza, this restriction effectively limits
travelers who receive this stamp at Allenby to
destinations in the West Bank only. This stamp has been
known to be used even with travelers who have no
Palestinian or other Arab ancestry, and who would not
seem to have any claim to a Palestinian Authority ID.


18. The United States Government seeks equal treatment
for all American citizens regardless of national origin
or ethnicity. American citizens who encounter
difficulties are encouraged to contact the U.S. Embassy
in Tel Aviv or the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem
at the telephone numbers below.


19. Americans in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza
Strip are strongly encouraged to register with the
Consular Sections of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv or the
U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem through the State
Department's travel registration website,
https://travelregistration.state.gov. U.S. citizens who
require emergency services may telephone the Consulate
General in Jerusalem at (972) (2) 628-7137, after hours
(for emergencies): (972) (2) 622-7250, or the Embassy in
Tel Aviv at (972) (3) 519-7575, after hours (for
emergencies): (972) (3) 519-7551.


20. Current information on travel and security in
Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip may be
obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-
407-4747 within the United States and Canada, or, from
overseas, 1-202-501-4444. For additional and more in-
depth information about specific aspects of travel to
these areas, U.S. citizens should consult: the Country
Specific Information for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza;
and the Worldwide Caution. These along with other
Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts and Country Specific
Information are available on the Department's Internet
website at http://travel.state.gov. Up-to-date
information on security conditions can also be accessed
at http://usembassy-israel.org.il or
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov. Additionally,
Americans are encouraged to sign up to receive security-
related information from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv
via email at the following link:
http://telaviv.usembassy.gov/consular/acs/ind ex.aspx

21. Minimize considered.
CLINTON