Middle East News

Israelis traveling abroad warned to remain alert

Jul 8, 2010, 21:49 GMT

Jerusalem - Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel warning Thursday, cautioning Israelis to be on the alert throughout the world for fear of revenge attacks by Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The threat was 'concrete, very high,' the bureau said on its website. It advised Israelis traveling abroad to be on high alert, to turn down unexpected suggestions and offers of both a business and social nature, to avoid deserted areas and to refuse entry by uninvited strangers or suspicious individuals into private quarters.

The bureau said Hezbollah continues to blame Israel for the February 2008 death of Imad Mughniyah, a senior official in the Iranian-backed organization, while Iran says Israel is responsible for the death of a nuclear scientist in Tehran.

The Israelis most at risk were business people and former security officials who faced the threat 'of kidnapping or murder attacks,' the bureau said.