The United States updated its travel warning to Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. “The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to remain mindful of security factors when considering travel to Israel and Jerusalem at this time,” said the notice posted Friday on the department’s travel advisory website, http://travel.state.gov. “In addition, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to the West Bank and to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip.” It goes on to say U.S. citizens should leave Gaza “immediately,” citing recent internecine violence in the territory. The statement notes the threat of Israeli retaliatory raids against terrorist attacks on Israel, as well as confrontations in the West Bank between pro-Palestinian protestors – some, the warning states, who are Americans – and Israeli settlers and troops. Within Israel, the statement warns of the threat of suicide bombings and other attacks, adding: “The U.S. Government has received information indicating that American interests could be the focus of terrorist attacks.” The warning also asks that Americans to “take into consideration that discos and nightclubs, as well as public buses, trains and their respective terminals are ‘off-limits’ to U.S. Government personnel.”
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