While New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration, it should also be a period of increased awareness of personal security. The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv reminds U.S. citizens to maintain a high degree of personal situational awareness, to avoid large gatherings and crowded places, and monitor local media.
The security environment in Israel is complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation, recent events, and geographic area. A rise in political tensions and violence during the past several months has resulted in injuries and deaths, including to U.S. citizens, in Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank. While the Government of Israel undertakes considerable efforts to ensure general security, no efforts are guaranteed to be 100 percent effective in preventing successful attacks by lone actors or organized terrorist groups.
We take this opportunity to remind U.S. citizens to review the Travel Warning issued for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on December 16, 2015, the existing Worldwide Caution, and the Worldwide Travel Alert issued on November 23, 2015.
For further information:
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- Contact the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, located at 71 Hayarkon, telephone (972) (3) 519-7575. The Consulate General in Jerusalem is located at 14 David Flusser, telephone (972) (2) 622-7230. If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance outside of business hours, you may call the emergency after-hours number either in Tel Aviv at (972) (3) 519-7551 or Jerusalem at (972) (2) 622-7250.
- Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
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