Israelis Advised to ‘Immediately’ Leave Turkey Amid Anti-War Demonstrations

Jerusalem, 18 October, 2023 (TPS) -- Amidst Israel’s war with Hamas and rising Arab terror threats abroad, Israel’s National Security Council issued new warnings on Wednesday against citizens traveling to Arab countries, singling out Turkey as the greatest threat.

The warning against traveling to Turkey is now at level 4, the highest threat level.

“All Israelis in Turkey are called upon to leave immediately,” the NSC said.

Israelis still in Turkey are advised to avoid gatherings in public places, overt displays of being Jewish or Israeli, and not going to local sites with identifiably Jewish or Israeli connections.

Turks demonstrated in Istanbul on Wednesday night following news reports of a devastating explosion at a Gaza hospital that erroneously blamed an Israeli air strike. The Israel Defense Forces released intercepted Hamas communications confirming the destruction was caused by a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.

The Hamas-affiliated Gaza Health Ministry claimed that “hundreds of people” were killed, a number that has not been independently confirmed.

More demonstrations in Turkey are expected.

The NSC also raised its travel warning for Morocco to level 2, recommending Israelis there take greater caution.

In addition, the NSC to avoid non-essential travel to Arab countries in general and especially to countries bordering Iran, “especially Jordan, Egypt, the UAE and Azerbaijan,” it stressed.

In Amman, hundreds of Jordanians demonstrating against the Gaza war tried to storm the Israeli embassy. Jordan’s King Abdullah cancelled a summit due to be held in Amman on Wednesday with US President Joe Biden, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Israelis are banned from traveling to five enemy countries — Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran — even if they hold additional citizenships and can enter with a different passport.