U.S. Warns Citizens to Stay Alert in Israel, Bars Government Employees From Jerusalem’s Old City

TEL AVIV – U.S. citizens visiting Israel should maintain a heightened sense of alert, the U.S. diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem warned in a statement

“During the last few months, and in particular over the past several days, there have been a number of attacks in Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank that have resulted in injury and death to multiple individuals, including to U.S. citizens,” stated a security message sent to U.S. citizens here on Wednesday.

“Given these recent events and the continuing dynamic security environment in these areas, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem remind U.S. citizens of the need to maintain a high degree of personal situational awareness and to monitor local media for information about breaking events.”

U.S. citizens were instructed “to exercise heightened caution in areas around the Damascus, Lion’s and Herod’s gates to the Old City, as these locations have been the scene of past attacks.”

Also, U.S. government workers are barred until at least March 16 from traveling inside Jerusalem’s Old City unless “specifically approved for mission critical travel.”

The message came one day after American veteran Taylor Force was killed and at least ten others wounded, four seriously, in terrorist stabbing attacks perpetrated by the same individual at two locations in Jaffa, the port city located just south of Tel Aviv.

The attacks took place while Vice President Joe Biden was in Jaffa speaking at the Peres Center for Peace, Breitbart Jerusalem reported.

The Jaffa stabbing was just one of three attacks that took place within about two hours of each other. One Israeli was moderately wounded in a terrorist attack in Petah Tikva, located about nine miles south of Tel Aviv. Before that, two Israelis were wounded in a shooting attack near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City and the scene of scores of attacks and attempted attacks in recent months.

On Wednesday, two terrorists from Kafr Aqab in eastern Jerusalem carried out a combined vehicular and stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to Jerusalem’s Old City. A Palestinian civilian was seriously wounded in the attack.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.