Israel: Heightened security measures ahead of Passover March 30-April 7

Event

Israel has announced new travel warnings and carried out security operations to arrest undocumented Palestinian workers in the country in recent days in advance of the Passover holiday, observed from Friday, March 30, to Saturday, April 7. Israel's Counterterror Bureau has issued travel warnings for Israeli citizens for 28 countries, notably including Egypt, Thailand, Turkey, and Jordan; individuals have been advised to defer travel to the Sinai Peninsula during the holiday period, as well as to southern Thailand, Turkey, and Jordan, due to the potential for terror attacks on Israeli citizens.

Despite such international travel warnings, Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh announced Tuesday, March 27, that there are no special domestic terror warnings in place for Passover, and that "Land Day," observed among Palestinians on March 30, should not present heightened security threats in Israel despite the planned beginning of a tent city protest in the Gaza Strip near the Israeli border. In advance of the Passover holiday, Israeli police have carried out an operation to arrest undocumented Palestinian workers in the country; on Tuesday, March 27, Israeli police announced that at least 468 Palestinians allegedly working illegally inside Israel had been arrested in a "deep-clean" operation, termed Operation Chametz (referring to the Jewish religious custom of removing leavening agents from one's home before Passover), since it was launched on Saturday, March 24. Related protests are possible in the coming days. Heightened security measures are expected in Israel and the Palestinian Territories for the duration of Passover.

Context

Passover is a Jewish holiday commemorating the biblical liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, as described in the Book of Exodus.

"Land Day" is annually observed among Palestinians on March 30. It commemorates the events of that day in 1976 when six Arab-Israeli citizens were killed and hundreds more wounded or arrested amid a general strike and widespread protests over land confiscated by Israeli authorities.

Advice

Individuals present in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are advised to avoid all protests or other public gatherings due to the risk of violence and to monitor developments to the situation. Due to the underlying terrorist threat, travelers in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to remain vigilant when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, prominent hotels and restaurants, etc.). As a reminder, several Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.