NL charters flight for people stuck in Israel; Code Red warning for Palestinian regions

The outgoing Cabinet is looking for possibilities to use chartered planes to pick up Netherlands residents who want to leave Israel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. The Ministry also escalated the travel advice for the West Bank from orange to red. The color code for the Gaza Strip was already red. The warning for East Jerusalem remains orange.

The Netherlands is looking at cooperation with other countries and airlines to repatriate citizens stuck in Israel. “We are currency investigating, together with partners, charter options for Dutch people who want to leave Israel. We have identified a number of Dutch groups that we know want to leave Israel. We are working hard to identify which other Dutch people want to leave,” the Ministry said to ANP.

It is unclear how many Netherlands residents are currently in Israel and the Palestine territories. Until now, the Ministry advised Dutch people to leave the area on their own. According to the Ministry, commercial flights are still leaving via Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

According to the travel organization Israel Idoed Reizen, it has about 100 Netherlands residents stuck in Israel.

The code red travel advice for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip urges Netherlands residents not to travel to the area under any circumstances. “If you do go to Gaza or the West Bank, then it is your own responsibility,” the Ministry said. “The Dutch representatives in the Palestine area can offer no consular assistance if you get into trouble.”

The code orange warning for East Jerusalem advises Netherlands residents to only visit the area if it is absolutely necessary. “A tourist rip is not a necessary trip,” the Ministry said.