Post date: Aug 04, 2013 10:34:5 AM
American embassy in Tel Aviv, consulate in Jerusalem closed due to security alert.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (AUGUST 4, 2013) (REUTERS) - The United States issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday (August 2) warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and closed the US embassy in Israel's Tel Aviv, and Jordan's Amman as well as the US mission in Jerusalem.
The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence that prompted it to close 21 U.S. embassies and consulates on Sunday, Aug. 4, chiefly those in the Muslim world, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.Without giving an update on the nature of the threat, the White House said on Sunday that top officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and national security adviser Susan Rice gathered on Saturday to discuss it.
Among the most prominent of al Qaeda's affiliates is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a Yemen-based group whose attempted attacks included the Christmas Day 2009 attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
U.S. security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat was related to AQAP but there was not a specific target. They also said that it was aimed at Western interests, an assessment later confirmed by the top U.S. military officer.
The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, which is normally closed to the public on Sunday, said all its facilities would be shut on Sunday and workers not essential for the building's security had been told not to come in.
The American Center in Jerusalem, which normally opens on Sundays, and theHaifa Consular Agency would be closed this Sunday.
Residents in Jerusalem underplayed the news saying they were used to security threats in the region.
"I think Americans are, as usual, very, very impressed by terrorism and sometimes they take huge means. It's maybe too much. I think Israel is quite safe," said Mrs Trojman
"Being in Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) I feel protected and Israelis are used to this all the time. We have to hope that everyone will be will be wanting to have shalom, have peace," said Sima Smith.
The embassies in the following countries will be closed: Afghanistan, Algeria,Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania,Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The consulates in Arbil, Iraq; Dhahran and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates will also be shut.