Israeli foreign minister asks Kerry to lift US travel warning to Israel

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman asked his American counterpart, John Kerry, to make sure the US lifts a warning issued to its citizens against traveling to Israel, which came in effect during the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement quoted by PLS48 news website, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Lieberman asked Secretary of State Kerry to tell the State Department to lift its travel warning to Israel, which has continued to be in effect since Operation Protective Edge officially ended. The statement added that, “American citizens should know that there is no reason that prevents them from traveling to Israel, and that they will not be in danger.”

Lieberman met with Kerry at the State Department headquarters in Washington DC on Wednesday.

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Lieberman also told Kerry that: “Israel highly appreciates the US support during Operation Protective Edge and that the Israeli leadership and people know that the US is Israel’s best friend.”

Regarding the latest developments in the region, Lieberman told Kerry that Israel supports the US in its efforts to form an international alliance against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and that it is willing to provide assistance if requested, taking into account the sensitivity of the participating countries and US needs.

Several Arab countries that are participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Lieberman reportedly said: “The war against terrorism in all its forms is one of the free world’s most important tasks today, we cannot differentiate between forms of terrorism.”

He then tried to draw a comparison between the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, and the Islamic State, saying that: “Hamas terrorist activities against Israel and against the people of Gaza do not differ from the Islamic State’s terrorism,” adding that: “The aim of all Islamic terrorism is the same: to destroy Western civilisation. Therefore, just as we cannot negotiate with the Islamic State, we cannot negotiate with Hamas, and as long as Hamas is based in Gaza, there will be no peace or security, and anyone who seeks to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians should put an end to the terror rule within the Palestinian Authority.”