The director of the Division for Security, Safety and
Emergencies of the Education Ministry has issued security
directives regarding procedures heeded on trips in Israel.
All of the new rules were approved by the Police
Department.
1. According to Police Department directives, one may
conduct trips in East Jerusalem, except in David's City and
Silwan, provided that the following procedures are
followed:
a) Every bus must have armed escorts. The students on the
trip must be divided into groups, and each group must have
its own armed escorts.
b) Visits to the Kosel will be coordinated by the ministry
situation room opposite the command post of the David
station.
c) Coordination of visits to other sites such as Har
Hatzofim, the Armon Hanatziv promenade, Ein Yael etc., will
be done with the situation room opposite the Operations
Branch of the Police Department.
2. Overnight trips may be held anywhere in the country,
provided that the following procedures are followed:
a) The leader of each trip will contact the appropriate
police unit before leaving. Together they will coordinate
the arrangements of the overnight trip and the means of
communication available in the event of an emergency. These
directives constitute addenda to the regular directives for
the coordination of trips under the aegis of the educational
system.
b) Sleeping quarters must be accessible to a rescue
vehicle.
c) Means of communication between the group and the
situation room must be available.
d) Watchmen must patrol the sleeping quarters.
e) Important: No overnight trip may be held without
coordination with the appropriate police unit. The
coordination must be approved by someone on the level of the
head of the Excursion Department, the operations officer,
the reporting center of the police station or the commander
of the station.
An IDF Spokesman warned Israelis not to enter areas of the
Palestinian Authority, due to the security situation. In
order to prevent security risks, the IDF forbids Israeli
citizens to enter any of the areas under the Palestinian
Authority's control, which include Judea, Shomron and the
Gaza Strip, as well as Jericho and the Palestinian
cities.
In addition, Israelis should avoid--as much as possible--all
activity near the areas of the Palestinian Authority, since
such proximity poses a real threat to human life.
