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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 103379 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC PTER AMGT ASEC IS GZ WE
SUBJECT: TRAVEL WARNING - ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA 
 
¶1. This Travel Warning updates information on the 
general security environment in Israel, the West Bank, 
and the Gaza Strip, and reminds American citizens of 
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.  In addition, the Department of State 
urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to the West Bank and 
to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip.  This warning 
supersedes the Travel Warning issued March 19, 2008. 
 
-------------- 
The Gaza Strip 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  Conflict and violence can occur and spread rapidly 
and 
unpredictably in the Gaza Strip.  The State Department 
strongly recommends that American citizens refrain from 
all travel to the Gaza strip and that those already in 
Gaza depart immediately.  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. 
No official travel is permitted inside the Gaza Strip at 
this time. 
 
¶3.  Hamas, a State Department-designated foreign 
terrorist organization, violently assumed control over 
Gaza in June 2007, making worse the already dangerous 
security situation there.  Although a ceasefire between 
Israel and Hamas went into effect June 19, 2008, the 
Gaza Strip continues to be a potential center of 
violence between Israeli security forces and Palestinian 
terrorist groups.  Militants there have abducted Western 
citizens, and terrorist organizations have threatened 
attacks against U.S. interests.  The American 
International School in northern Gaza has been the 
target of repeated attacks.  Despite the ceasefire, 
Hamas and Islamic Jihad (another designated foreign 
terrorist organization) still occasionally launch rocket 
attacks against Israeli towns as far north as Ashkelon. 
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) retains the option of 
responding to these attacks with military force.  In 
addition, Hamas uses violence against other Palestinian 
factions in Gaza, and innocent civilians are at times 
the victims. 
 
¶4.  The security environment is very fluid in the 
vicinity of the Gaza Strip, and the ceasefire could 
collapse with little or no advance warning.  Rocket and 
mortar launches into Israel are unpredictable, resulting 
in a potentially unsafe situation.  Gunfire from Gaza 
into Israel is a danger.  Palestinian snipers have 
killed individuals within rifle range of the Gaza 
border.  As a result, travel in the surrounding area is 
strongly discouraged.  Due to the continued high level 
of tensions and violence in and near the Gaza Strip, all 
U.S. Embassy and Consulate General employees are 
required to provide 24 hours advance notice of any 
official travel to the city of Sderot, crossing points 
into Gaza, and to any other areas bordering Gaza. 
American citizens should be aware that as a consequence 
of the prohibition on travel by U.S. Government 
employees to the Gaza Strip, the ability of consular 
staff to offer timely assistance to U.S. citizens there 
is extremely limited. 
 
------------- 
The West Bank 
------------- 
 
¶5.  The security environment in the West Bank remains 
 
STATE 00103379  002 OF 004 
 
 
volatile.  Violent demonstrations, kidnappings and 
shootings are unpredictable and can occur without 
warning.  The Department of State urges Americans to 
defer travel to the West Bank at this time. 
 
¶6.  The IDF continues to carry out security operations 
in the West Bank, including nighttime raids to arrest 
terrorist suspects that sometimes result in gun battles. 
Israeli security operations can occur at any time, 
including frequent raids to arrest terrorist suspects 
that result in shootings, demonstrations and often 
violent conflict.  This heightens the risk of Americans 
being caught in the middle of potentially dangerous 
situations.  Some Americans and Europeans 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. 
 
¶7.  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. 
 
¶8.  American citizens should be aware that, as a 
consequence of the current limitations on official 
travel to the West Bank, the ability of consular staff 
to offer timely assistance to U.S. citizens there is 
limited. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Travel Restrictions for U.S. Government Personnel 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9.  All American U.S. Government personnel and their 
dependents are prohibited from traveling to any cities, 
towns or settlements in the West Bank, except when they 
are on mission-essential business or are traveling for 
other mission-approved purposes.  For limited, personal 
travel, U.S. government personnel and family members are 
permitted to travel through the West Bank only 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 only, with stops 
permitted only at Qumran National Park off Route 90 by 
the 
Dead Sea.  Each such transit requires prior notification 
to the Consulate General's security office and must 
occur during daylight hours.  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.  In September 
2008, a vehicle plowed into a group of Israeli soldiers 
on a traffic island near a Jerusalem square, injuring 
more than a dozen.  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 precarious security environment.  The 
threat of such attacks is on-going.  American citizens 
are cautioned that a greater danger may exist in the 
vicinity of 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.  Rocket 
fire from Lebanon into Israel, except for one recent 
 
STATE 00103379  003 OF 004 
 
 
incident, has ceased since the end of military 
hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah forces in 
southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006.  Although Israel 
denied any involvement, the killing of a Hizbollah 
leader in Syria on February 12, 2008, raises the 
possibility of Hizbollah attacks against Israel. 
 
¶11.  American citizens are urged to exercise a high 
degree of caution and common sense when patronizing 
restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, malls, places of 
worship, and theaters -- especially during peak hours. 
Large crowds and public gatherings have been 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. 
 
¶12.  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.  Israeli security 
services report that they continue to receive 
information of planned terrorist attacks in and around 
Jerusalem. 
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 am and 2 pm on 
Fridays. 
 
----------------------- 
Entry/Exit Difficulties 
----------------------- 
 
¶13.  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. 
 
¶14.  American citizens whom Israeli authorities 
determine to be of Arab 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 were born in the 
West Bank or Gaza, currently reside there, or lived 
there for any appreciable amount of time. 
 
¶15.  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 
 
STATE 00103379  004 OF 004 
 
 
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, may be refused entry to Israel 
via Ben Gurion Airport and told that they must enter 
Israel from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. 
 
¶16.  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. 
 
¶17.  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: 
(972) (2) 622-7250 or the Embassy in Tel Aviv at (972) 
(3) 519-7575, after hours: (972) (3) 519-7551. 
 
¶18.  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 sheets 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. 
 
¶19.  Minimize considered. 
RICE