JERUSALEM — The Israeli intelligence community has called on nationals to leave all Middle East countries, Egypt and
Jordan in particular due to immediate insurgency threats.
The National Security Council has issued an updated travel warning that
urged Israelis to leave virtually every country in the Middle East. The
council's Counter-Terrorism Division reported a high threat alert in Egypt
and Jordan.
"Very high concrete threat," the travel warning, issued on Wednesday,
said. "Avoid visiting and leave country [Egypt] immediately — all of Egypt
but especially the Sinai peninsula."
Officials said an estimated 800 Israelis were vacationing in the Sinai
Peninsula. They said the Sinai contained the highest threat alert amid
intelligence of imminent attacks by Islamic insurgency groups.
The counter-terrorism unit also designated Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen as major threats. Israelis were urged to
leave these countries immediately.
"With these countries, we tell them 'Do not travel to them, and if you
are
there, leave immediately,'" Brig. Gen. Elkana Har-Nof, deputy director of
the
Counter-Terrorism Division, said.
[On Thursday, the Washington Post quoted a senior U.S. official as
saying that a former Iranian deputy defense minister has defected to the
West. The official said the Iranian was recruited by Israel and has been
providing information on Iran's links to Hizbullah and other insurgency
groups in the Middle East.]
The National Security Council advised Israelis not to visit other Arab
countries, including Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. The council said Kuwait
contained a "basic concrete threat."
Regarding Algeria, the travel warning said, "High concrete threat; avoid
visiting and leave country as soon as possible."
Israelis are formally banned from entering all Arab countries with the
exception of Egypt and Jordan. But some countries, including Morocco and
Tunisia, have quietly allowed Israeli nationals with third-country passports
and family ties to return for visits.
The only Middle East countries not included in the Israeli alert were
the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. The Israeli agency warned against
visiting southeastern Turkey along the borders with Iraq and Iran.
"Even though there are no travel warnings regarding the following
countries, there are occasional and potential terrorist threats in their
regard," the travel warning said. "Therefore, Israeli citizens are called
upon to be especially cautious when visiting them and to adopt the
recommended rules of conduct: The Philippines, Turkey, Thailand and
Uzbekistan."
