Sasson told Israel Radio that an official advisory had been issued by his office, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other security services, urging Israelis to refrain from visiting Jordan, Egypt (including the Sinai Peninsula), Morocco, Tunisia and Indonesia. Travel to these countries has not been banned, but Israeli tourism traffic has dropped dramatically since the start of the Palestinian uprising in September.

Officials at the Arava border point told the Jerusalem Post

"It is really dangerous to go to Jordan." - Tour operator Ze'ev Refael

yesterday that there are "very, very few" Israelis making the crossing. "Most of them tell us that they know of the dangers, but they have businesses there and must go," said one official.

"In my view, it is really dangerous to go to Jordan," said tour operator Ze'ev Refael, director of Masada Tours, which has sent thousands of Israelis and foreign tourists to Jordan and Egypt. Refael told the Jerusalem Post it would be a mistake for Israelis to avoid Egypt. According to Refael, Jordan is more dangerous due to the large Palestinian population living there.

Israeli Ambassador to Jordan David Dadon said yesterday that Israelis were better off not visiting Jordan at this time. Dadon told Israel Radio that it was difficult to ask Israeli businessmen who had invested in Jordan after the country signed a peace treaty with Israel to give up everything. Dadon said that Israelis who traveled into Jordan for business or other purposes should take all necessary security precautions and should coordinate their travel with the Israeli embassy in Amman.

Jordan bars Israeli expert from autopsy of slain businessman
Officials in Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs are furious that Jordan retracted a prior agreement to allow Professor Yehuda Hiss, head of the forensic medicine department at Abu Kabir, to participate in the autopsy of Yitzhak Snir, the Israeli businessman found murdered in Amman this week.

Hiss arrived in Jordan yesterday before Snir's body was transported to Israel for burial. Hiss told ynet, "Despite the fact that the Jordanians invited me to participate in the autopsy, which was coordinated with the Foreign Ministry, the Jordanian chief prosecutor did not allow me to be present. They did not give any reasonable explanation." Hiss denied media reports that he had been allowed to see the body before the autopsy took place.

A ministry official told Ha'aretz that he thought Jordan was reluctant to appear to be helping Israel in the investigation of a murder. The autopsy revealed that Snir had been hit in the back by eight bullets, and not five as had been previously thought.

While Israel continues to contend that Snir's murder was politically motivated, Jordanian authorities think it may have stemmed from a financial dispute between Snir and his Jordanian business partners.

"There was no business tension in the firm," insisted Israeli Embassy spokesman Roey Gilad. "It was a successful partnership and they engaged in an excellent relationship."

Two previously unknown underground groups, one calling itself the Nobles of Jordan, claimed responsibility for Snir's killing, charging that Snir was an agent of the Mossad. According to a report today in Maariv, anonymous e-mail messages were sent to the Amman offices of the Al Quds Al-Arabi newspaper claiming responsibility for the murder 12 hours before Snir's body was found.

Jordanian officials dismissed the reports of e-mail messages as an "attempt to interfere with the criminal investigation and give it a political basis."

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