Israeli envoy calls for PH easing of travel alert

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Dana Kursh renewed her appeal for the Philippine government to lift its travel alert for Filipinos, saying it will be an important step towards achieving peace in the region.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Kursh said that it was a “baby step” that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) could take to show that the Philippines and Israel were not deterred by “terrorism.”

“I think the only way to fight terrorism is by not being deterred, by not being afraid and paralyzed. If this travel advisory would be lifted, because many nations have already lifted it, many air carriers are already flying to Israel, many businessmen and pilgrims from the Philippines who are private [will] keep on going,” Kursh shared.

The envoy said removing the travel alert is a "courageous step" in the fight against terrorism...and "a pro-peace gesture of the Filipinos," adding that many Filipinos say they want to come to Israel again.

GMA News Online sought comment from the DFA and will post it once available.

Kursh said the Philippines and Israel have a long history of partnership and collaboration.

“The Philippine leadership has been amazing to us even before both of our nations became states. In 1947, the only Asian country that voted for us for the establishment of the State of Israel in the U.N., and we are still in awe and in a lot of appreciation for this friendship and solidarity with us. We would encourage it to continue,” she said.

In June 2025, the Philippines downgraded the security alert warning for Filipinos in Israel from Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation) to Level 2 (Restriction Phase), citing the easing of the conflict in the country.

Under Alert Level 2, only essential travels are allowed, and the deployment of newly hired or first-time Filipino workers, except for those with existing contracts, is prohibited.

Not a fight vs. Palestinians

Meanwhile, the Israeli envoy said her country's fight is against Hamas and other jihadist groups and not against Palestinians.

Kursh said Israel had accepted US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, but that Hamas had not been upholding its end of the deal to release hostages.

She said that there are still three hostages yet to be released, and claimed it was “psychological warfare” that they are still being kept in captivity.

“We cannot move to the next phase until this is finalized and we are united with all the hostages… Both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people had been hijacked and kept under captivity for the past two years by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas,” she said.

The ambassador noted that once Hamas is “out of the picture,” Israel will attempt to rebuild trust between them and the Palestinians.

“I'm not taking away the suffering of the Palestinian people for the past two years. My heart goes out to everyone who's been affected, but we need to bear in mind who started this,” Kursh said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News