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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 004358 
 
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 U.S. citizens on 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.  In addition, the Department of State urges U.S. 
citizens to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip.  This 
warning replaces the Travel Warning issued September 26, 
2008 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 Department of State warns U.S. citizens that the 
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been engaged in a 
military operation, "Operation Cast Lead," in the Gaza 
Strip.  This operation began on December 27, 2008, with 
aerial and naval strikes and expanded on January 3, 
2009, to include ground operations.  The 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.  Since the December 19, 2008, expiration of a 
ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a State Department 
designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas has 
launched ongoing rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza 
into southern Israel.  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 IDF 
military operations in Gaza and the high-volume of 
rocket and mortar attacks into Israel from Gaza, U.S. 
Government personnel have been restricted from traveling 
within 30 km of the Gaza Strip.  For U.S. Government 
employees to travel inside the 30 KM radius, approval is 
required from the Embassy's Regional Security Office. 
 
¶5.  The Government of Israel's Home Front Command has 
ordered residents of all communities within 40 
kilometers of the Gaza Strip, including Beersheva, 
Yavne, and Gadera, to take precautions against rocket 
attacks.  Schools and public facilities may be closed 
and the provision of some public services scaled back in 
areas considered to be within rocket range.  American 
citizens within rocket range should take appropriate 
precautions and security measures, which may include 
remaining within a certain distance of a sheltered space 
and staying in that space for five minutes after a 
rocket alert sounds.  Specific guidance in English is 
available at the Home Front Command Web site: 
http://www.oref.org.il/934-en/PAKAR.aspx. 
 
------------- 
The West Bank 
 
STATE 00004358  002 OF 004 
 
 
------------- 
 
¶6.  The security environment in the West Bank remains 
volatile.  Demonstrations are unpredictable and can 
occur without warning and become violent.  Vehicles have 
also been the target of rocks, Molotov cocktails, and 
gunfire on West Bank roads.  The Department of State 
urges Americans to defer travel to the West Bank at this 
time. 
 
¶7.  The IDF continues to carry out security operations 
in the West Bank.  Israeli security operations can occur 
at any time, including 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.  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 only approved for transit purposes, 
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.  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.   Given the military conflict in and around Gaza, 
the IDF has placed its forces along the northern border 
with Lebanon on a heightened state of alert.  In early 
January 2009, short-range rockets were fired from 
Lebanon into northern Israel, reportedly a demonstration 
of support by militants for Hamas' resistance to Israel 
in the Gaza Strip.  Due to this northern rocket fire, 
U.S. Government employees have been advised to avoid 
traveling north of Akko/Acre and along the entire border 
with Lebanon during the IDF operation in Gaza.  If 
Americans are present in this area, they should monitor 
media reports and take appropriate security measures in 
 
STATE 00004358  003 OF 004 
 
 
accordance with the Home Front Command's guidance 
(http://www.oref.org.il/934-en/PAKAR.aspx). 
 
¶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 
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.  Authorized and spontaneous 
demonstrations related to the IDF action in Gaza have 
taken place in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, around Afula 
and elsewhere in Israel.  U.S. Government personnel have 
been directed to avoid all protests.  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 
 
STATE 00004358  004 OF 004 
 
 
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.  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. 
 
¶18.  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. 
 
¶19.  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.  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. 
 
¶20.  Minimize considered. 
RICE