Departure of American Diplomats' Families - 2002-04-03

The situation in the Middle East is deteriorating, and the United States has requested the families of its diplomats in Jerusalem to leave Israel. On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning to its citizens regarding travel to Israel. In this warning, families of diplomats at the Jerusalem consulate were informed that if they volunteer to leave Israel, the department would arrange their flights. This recommendation does not apply to American diplomats in Tel Aviv. In the same announcement, all American citizens in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Israel were urged to reach safe locations, and Americans were advised to postpone their travel to these areas. The warning stated that due to ongoing violence, many civilians have been killed and injured, including some American tourists. The University of California and two other American universities have asked students participating in study programs in Israel to return to the U.S. 28 of these students have already returned to the U.S., and the remaining 27 have also been asked to leave Israel. Earlier, universities in Colorado and Washington had canceled their students' study programs.