According to the consular chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel’s security situation has not weakened so much that there would be a need for evacuation. It is estimated that more than 1,000 Finns live in the country.
Marleena Pelli,
Jimmy Holmberg
For the time being, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not planning to evacuate Finns from Israel, says the consular chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jussi Tanner.
– A national evacuation operation is not seen as appropriate at this stage, but no option has been ruled out.
The conflict in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians escalated over the weekend when the extremist organization Hamas carried out a devastating attack on Israel.
For example, Poland has sent air force transport planes and special forces soldiers to Israel to evacuate Poles in the country.
The safety situation has not changed in areas favored by Finns
According to Tanner, the security situation in destinations favored by Finns, such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, has not deteriorated significantly.
The situation in these areas is under control given the circumstances, states the head of the consul. The local civil defense is responsible for ensuring that tourists are also protected from rocket attacks.
– There is a lot of discomfort and worry, but in an actual emergency we don’t know of any Finns.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s estimate, 1,000–2,000 Finns live in Israel. About 400 of them have done so travel notification.
State Department advises to avoid traveling to Israel. For the time being, there are no plans to tighten the travel recommendation.
– We are now focusing on helping those Finns who want to leave, and finding the fastest way to get out of the country, says the head of the consul.
Tourists have three routes to leave the country
Leaving Israel has become more difficult, as several airlines have canceled flights from the country.
For example, Finnair said today on Monday that it will cancel flights between Tel Aviv and Helsinki until October 14. Travel agency TUI has also suspended trips to Israel.
According to Tanner, you can fly from Tel Aviv airport to Cyprus, which can also be reached by ferry from Tel Aviv.
The third way to leave the country is to cross the land border to Jordan, whose capital city Amman normally has flights, Tanner says.
– All this requires people to organize themselves a bit, but leaving is not impossible.