U.S. warns against travel to Israel

WASHINGTON - The State Department, citing a ``deteriorating security situation,&#39;&#39; warned Americans on Tuesday to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and said dependents of American diplomats in Jerusalem were being encouraged to go home. <br> <br> ``The potential for further terrorist acts remains high,&#39;&#39; the travel warning said. ``The situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza remains extremely volatile with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations and clashes.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Similar warnings to Americans to stay away from Israel were issued in December and January. The statement Tuesday was coupled with an announcement that dependents of U.S. diplomats and other American workers at the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem were authorized to go home at government expense. <br> <br> Also, Americans living in Jerusalem, the West Bank and in Gaza were advised to consider relocating.<br> <br> The departure of dependents, which is not mandatory, was based on the general situation and not on any specific threats against Americans, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. <br> <br> Israel&#39;s economy already is reeling under the damage caused by Palestinian attacks, the expense of a military buildup and a sharp decline in tourists. Tuesday&#39;s statement is bound to add to Americans&#39; anxieties about visiting Israel. <br> <br> The United States, declining to recognize Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv. The authorized departure of dependents, as it is called, does not apply to the embassy, the officials said. <br> <br> Jerusalem has been a frequent target of Palestinian suicide bombers. Tel Aviv also has suffered bloody attacks, but with less frequency. <br> <br> <br> There was no immediate word how many American dependents would leave. <br> <br> Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has talked twice to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon since Saturday, said Israeli forces had no intention of permanently occupying Palestinian-held towns, villages and cities on the West Bank. <br> <br> ``I would guess it will take them a couple of weeks,&#39;&#39; Powell said on NBC&#39;s ``Today&#39;&#39; about the Israeli military drive. ``I hope this will end quickly, but I can&#39;t predict when the Israelis will make the judgment that they can withdraw.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Bush administration is not branding Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a terrorist because there is more he can do to further the Mideast peace process, Powell said.<br> <br> ``There are terrorist activities, we see them every day,&#39;&#39; Powell said, referring to suicide bombings in Israel. ``But Chairman Arafat is the head of the Palestinian Authority, an organization we help create,&#39;&#39; and has been working within the process. <br> <br> ``We still believe there is more he can do and we are asking him to do more and it would not serve our purpose right now to brand him individually as a terrorist,&#39;&#39; Powell said on CBS&#39; ``The Early Show.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hours after Sharon suggested that Arafat be exiled, Powell said on ABC&#39;s ``Good Morning America&#39;&#39;: ``Sending him into exile will just give him another place from which to conduct the same kind of activities. Until he decides he&#39;s going to leave the country, it seems we need to work with him where he is.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Powell&#39;s treatment of Arafat was more restrained than the rhetoric President Bush directed against the Palestinian leader Monday. <br> <br> <br> ``There will never be peace so long as there is terror, and all of us must fight terror,&#39;&#39; Bush said. ``I&#39;d like to see Chairman Arafat denounce the terrorist activities that are taking place, the constant attacks.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Meanwhile, the State Department appealed to Israel to ``carefully consider the consequences&#39;&#39; of its military thrust into the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Arafat is trapped inside his Palestinian Liberation Organization headquarters. <br> <br> And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld linked Iran, Iraq and Syria to the terror attacks on Israel, accusing the three nations of ``inspiring and financing a culture of political murder and suicide bombing.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Without venturing a judgment on Israel&#39;s method of retaliation, Rumsfeld suggested the United States would take stern measures under similar circumstances. <br> <br> ``When the United States is hit by terrorist attacks, you have a choice. You can say, `Gee, that&#39;s too bad,&#39; or you can go try to find the terrorists and do something about it,&#39;&#39; Rumsfeld said. <br> <br> The overall aim was to register U.S. resolve against terrorists who have subjected Israel to the deadliest series of bombings in its difficult 54-year history. <br> <br> Bush appealed to Arafat to order an end to the assaults on Israel and on settlers and soldiers on the West Bank. Suicide bombing in the name of religion is nothing but terror, he said. <br> <br> ``There will never be peace so long as there is terror, and all of us must fight terror,&#39;&#39; Bush said. ``I&#39;d like to see Chairman Arafat denounce the terrorist activities that are taking place, the constant attacks.&#39;&#39;