Israel removes severe travel warning for Arugam Bay

Friday, 15 November 2024 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Israeli authorities eased a travel warning for Sri Lanka on Wednesday, some three weeks after cautioning tourists at a popular beach town of an imminent terrorist threat.

The National Security Council, which publishes travel advisories, said it was lowering the warning level for Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay area from four, which indicates a highly credible threat, to two, indicating a milder occasional threat.

The high-level threat area had extended across Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast as far as the town of Hikkaduwa.

The rest of the island nation was lowered from level three — moderate — to level two.

The NSC says the threat level is being updated from level 4 (high) in the southwest of the country and level 3 (moderate) in the rest of Sri Lanka, to level 2 (an occasional threat) for the entire country.

The NSC says Israeli travellers should alert local security forces if there are any hostilities toward Jews or Israelis, and cautions against wearing Jewish or Israeli symbols.

Tourist arrivals from Israel don’t figure in the Top 10 source markets for Sri Lanka. Year to date as of 10 November there had been 22,145 tourists from Israel ranking at number 18.

Last month, the NSC called on Israelis to leave Sri Lanka’s south and west, and said Israelis should postpone travel to the rest of the country. They also urged nationals to hide signs that indicate they are Israelis and avoid gathering in large numbers.

The United States, which had also issued a warning for Arugam Bay, rescinded its advisory as well on Wednesday, the Embassy in Colombo said.