Sweden advises its citizens against traveling to areas closer than 5 km from Israel’s border with Gaza
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that, in view of the security changes in Israel, it has decided to change the travel advice to this country and advise its citizens against non-essential travel to areas closer to five kilometers from Israel’s border with Gaza.
In a statement yesterday, December 21, the ministry emphasized that this decision means that the area covered by the advice against non-essential travel in the neighborhood of Israel towards Gaza has been reduced, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to the ministry, this advice applies until further notice. It also added that when the ministry advises against travel, there may be financial and legal consequences for package/charter travel.
In addition, if the Ministry issues an advisory and the tour operator cancels the trip, the traveler is entitled to a refund.
Israel is in constant conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
However, as far as the US State Department is concerned, it does not advise tourists to travel to Israel, but advises US citizens to be informed of “the continued risks of travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza due to the security situation and heightened tensions there, and states “do not travel” to Gaza.
In addition, they have also advised travelers to be careful in the Old Town and when traveling to the West Bank.
In the past, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has Norway advised its citizens to avoid traveling to the West Bank regions of Nablus and Jenin.
In this regard, the ministry pointed out that the security situation in the northern West Bank has been unstable for a long time. Meanwhile, it also noted that the travel advisories for Jenin and Nablus are in addition to the current travel advisories covering Gaza.
In addition, in Israel and the West Bank, there is a risk of violent incidents, including stabbings, shootings, arson, vehicle accidents, and stone-throwing attacks on people and vehicles, including protesters, Israeli security forces, and civilians.
The risk of tourists or passers-by getting caught up in any of these types of incidents is higher than average. Tourists are also warned that if they are in a location where an Israeli security operation or armed clashes are ongoing, they should wait for local authorities to confirm that the situation is calm before proceeding to another location.