During the last few months, and in particular over the past several days, there have been a number of attacks in Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank that have resulted in injury and death to multiple individuals, including to U.S. citizens. Given these recent events and the continuing dynamic security environment in these areas, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem remind U.S. citizens of the need to maintain a high degree of personal situational awareness and to monitor local media for information about breaking events. While the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority undertake considerable efforts to ensure general security, no efforts are guaranteed to be 100 percent effective in preventing successful attacks.
In view of the current security environment and the possibility of future attacks, the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem has declared Jerusalem’s Old City to be off limits to U.S. government employees except as otherwise specifically approved for mission critical travel. This restriction will remain in effect through Wednesday, March 16 and may be extended depending on security conditions. In addition, the U.S. Consulate General reminds U.S. citizens to exercise heightened caution in areas around the Damascus, Lion’s and Herod’s gates to the Old City, as these locations have been the scene of past attacks.
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 and the Worldwide Caution issued on March 3, 2016.
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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