BICOM

The Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau has published new advice warning against travel to areas where terrorists could potentially target Israelis and Jews.

The Counter Terrorism Bureau, a unit of the National Security Council, has advised of a significant terrorist threat to Israelis and Jewish people in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Thailand and Kenya. Israelis are already forbidden to travel to Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Officials at the Bureau said: “The travel advisories are based on solid and reliable information reflecting concrete threats based on the current intelligence picture.”

The Bureau has highlighted that the Sinai peninsula is a very high-risk travel area and it advises against travel to Egypt. Israelis in Sinai have been asked to leave the area immediately. But, despite repeated warnings of the presence of a branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Sinai Peninsula, hundreds of Israelis still travel there.

The south of Thailand, a country popular with Israeli tourists, is also in the new high risk country list and Israelis have been urged to leave the area without delay and avoid traveling there during the coming holiday. Turkey, the Kashmir region of India, the Philippines and Jordan were also indicated as risky travel areas.

The Bureau issued specific travel advice about the Passover holiday: “The current period is characterised by a redesign of the patterns of terror operations around the world.” Israelis were reminded to “be vigilant while visiting crowded locations, especially sites that are known as terror targets, including tourist attractions, sports stadiums, cultural sites such as museums, shopping and entertainment centres, hotels, airports, places of worship (churches, synagogues and mosques), and mass events.”