Israel cautions travellers over Pesach

JORDAN MOSHE

The bureau, a unit of Israel’s National Security Council, announced on its website that “the current period is characterised by a redesign of the patterns of terror operations around the world”, and can “serve as a time for terrorists to perpetrate terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets”.

The warning is specifically aimed at Israelis travelling, but includes other Jews only in as much as they may be frequenting specifically Jewish establishments.

While the bureau acknowledges that its advisory is by no means a first, the bureau adds that its warnings are “based on solid and reliable information, reflecting concrete threats based on the current intelligence picture”.

In a comprehensive list, the bureau rates various countries by using a security threat-level system, ranging from numbers 1 to 4. Number 1 is the most severe with “a very high concrete threat”, and number 4 represents a minimal concern, but “a continuing potential threat”.

The list opens with the six so-called enemy states: Syria, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. Israeli citizens are prohibited from visiting these states by law.

The list then goes on to include countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Russia, which are to be avoided or exited as soon as possible. Then come Azerbaijan, Morocco and Oman, to which non-essential travel should be avoided.

Thailand, a country which enjoys enormous popularity among Israeli backpackers, is also deemed a high-risk country. Israelis have been urged to leave the place without delay and to avoid travelling there during the upcoming holiday period.

In support of its warning, the bureau cites the activities of international terror organisations the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda. It states that while the past year was marked by a decline in the number of IS attacks worldwide, most of the attacks were “initiated by local or isolated infrastructures that appropriated the organisation’s ideology”. In other words, these were local people inspired by IS dogma.

The bureau estimates that this trend will continue in the near future, and that the main concern will be the attacks of individual terrorists, inspired by the organisation’s ideology.

Regarding al-Qaeda, it says that the organisation is trying to “exploit the collapse of the IS group to reclaim its position and expand its base”.

“We reiterate that targeting Israel, Israelis and Jews around the world remains a primary objective for al-Qaeda,” adds the bureau.

The bureau goes on to say that the IS is “seeking new avenues of action”. Now that IS operatives cannot reach the Syrian-Iraqi arena, they are redirecting their activists to areas like “Afghanistan, Sinai (Egypt), Turkey, the Philippines and African countries”.

African countries with high-risk status identified by the bureau include Libya, Sudan, northern Nigeria, Somalia, Senegal, Chad and Cameroon.

The potential presence of the IS on the continent has been a cause of considerable concern over the past few months. Earlier this month, Kenyan terror suspect Mohamed Shukri Abdiwahid Yerrow, who had been on police watch lists, fled to Yemen to join the IS, according to Kenyan police. He is said to have inherited the leadership of the IS cell in Kenya from Abu Fidaa and was co-ordinating the recruitment of Kenyan youth.

He is believed to have orchestrated several departures by IS sympathisers, mainly university graduates, who left to join the IS in Syria.

Even closer to home, the abduction earlier this year of British nationals and horticulturists Rodney Saunders and his wife, Rachel‚ allegedly at the hands of a cell loyal to the IS in rural KwaZulu-Natal‚ raised questions as to how South Africa might have been infiltrated by the terrorist group.

South African special forces subsequently arrested Sayfydeen Aslam Del Vecchio and Fatima Patel, who were believed to have IS recruiting material at their hideout in Ngoye, near Mtunzini. The British Foreign Office went on to update its website and warn Britons of “likely” attacks by Islamists in South Africa.

Prior to that, 2016 saw an investigation into the infamous Thulsie twins, who allegedly plotted to blow up a US mission and Jewish installations in Johannesburg. The Hawks arrested the brothers and said they had recovered evidence linking them to the IS.

Political scientist Professor Hussein Solomon said that the South African government had done “precious little” to monitor the local threat of terror groups. According to Solomon, the South African intelligence services “have ignored the problem. Just because we were not the ones going to Iraq or Afghanistan, doesn’t make us safe.”

Responding to the bureau’s statement, the Israeli embassy confirmed that South African Jews should not be concerned about travelling to other countries on the continent during Pesach, but should remain vigilant when visiting Jewish installations such as shuls.