Last update - 00:00 05/08/2007
Sinai tops PMO's terror alert list for holiday season
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
The Sinai Peninsula topped the list of terror alerts published Prime Minister's Office on Sunday, in an attempt to deter Israelis from traveling to areas with a high risk of terror attacks during the upcoming Jewish holidays.
The PMO's anti-terror department warned Israelis not to travel to Egypt in general, and Sinai in particular, where the threat is classified as "concrete and particularly severe." The PMO urged Israelis currently visiting Sinai to return home immediately.
Likewise, the PMO warned of a "severe threat" that Hezbollah will try to kidnap Israelis traveling abroad.
The PMO urged Israelis to avoid unexpected tempting offers abroad, and to refuse to accept gifts from unknown or suspicious individuals. In addition, the PMO warned Israelis to refuse invitations to go to remote or isolated areas, especially at night, and to avoid showing up for unplanned meetings alone.
Nonetheless, the PMO emphasized that the warnings are not new, but simply being reissued.
Like in years past, the PMO also defined Arab states, as well as Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Malasia, as countries with a "particularly high terror threat."
The PMO urged Israelis to avoid traveling to Kenya, which has a "basic concrete terror threat," and to "postpone non-essential visits" to Bangladesh and Nigeria, which have an ongoing potential terror threat.
Kashmir, the Mindanao region of the Philippines, and Chechnya were all defined as having a "very high threat." The PMO also said there exists a threat of attacks on Israelis in southern Thailand, as well as the capital Bangkok ? and in particular Kwasan Street, where numerous Israelis gather.
The PMO issued an additional, more general warning to Israelis planning to travel to Turkey and Uzbekistan.