‘Exit as quickly as possible,’ Israel tells citizens in Turkey

Israel again instructs its citizens to avoid visiting Turkey and for those already there “to exit as quickly as possible,” in light of the approaching travel season.

On Friday, Israel issued a dramatic announcement, raising the threat level for Turkey to the highest possible level, which designates a large, concrete threat.

Speaking to journalists, a senior counter-terrorism official in the Israeli government reviews the travel warnings ahead of Passover and the spring season, when many Israelis take advantage of the holidays to go abroad.

The official would not discuss the specific intelligence that led to the drastic announcement, but instead cites a general “situational assessment.”

“We encourage Israelis to cancel their vacations in Turkey, to change them to other destinations through their travel companies. We also have been in contact with the travel agencies over the past week to ensure that they are adhering to the requests of citizens to change their destinations to countries that aren’t under a travel warning,” he says.

However, he adds, layovers in the country’s airports are not considered an issue at this time.

Travel to the Sinai Peninsula should also be avoided, in light of the fighting between the Islamic State and Egyptian forces there, the official says.

In Europe, Israelis should be “more aware” and be cautious of “standing out” as Israelis in their dress and speech, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau says in a statement.

And citizens should be wary of traveling to Africa, specifically the Horn of Africa, Nigeria and Tunisia, because of the threat of various terror groups there, according to the Counter-Terrorism Bureau.

— Judah Ari Gross