Israelis evacuated from Bolivian capital

The Foreign Ministry successfully evacuated 120 Israelis that were trapped in La Paz, Bolivia due to local politically-motivated riots and transportation strikes, and transported them to the local airport.

Second Secretary at the Israeli Embassy in Peru, Lior Keinan told Ynet the evacuation hasd been completed and all Israeli citizens have left La Paz. In addition, he said 24 of them were already on the way to southern Peru.

A plane is scheduled to take off at 12:00 p.m. Peru time (8 p.m. local time) from the Bolivian airport for northern Chile, Keinan said.

"There was a problem transporting the Israelis from La Paz to the airport, as the roads were blocked and barricaded," he said. "So we planned to move at night and  transfer them to the airport inconspicuously with taxis, to avoid arrests."

But he said that once the Israelis were safely at the airport, there were additional difficulties finding available airplanes to fly them out

"We are more relaxed now that the Israelis are at the airport, as it is much safer there," he said. "We are presently trying to contact them to ensure that everyone arrived safely." 

'Israelis not cooperating' 

Tens of thousands of Indians, miners and labor protesters paralyzed downtown La Paz on Monday with their largest anti-government march in weeks. As a result, embattled President Carlos Mesa has announced his intention to resign, after failing to defuse the political crisis.

Israel's Ambassador to Peru Uri Noy said on Monday the main problem had involved bringing the Israelis trapped in La Paz to the airport. 

"The Israelis are not cooperating enough; we are still waiting for them to submit full lists (of the Israelis trapped in the Bolivian capital)," he said earlier. "For now, we must rely on the local police."

The rescue plan originally involved forming a police-escorted convoy of vehicles carrying Israelis from La Paz to the airport, after which the Israelis would be flown out of the country.

"There are some Israelis who are apparently in no hurry to leave," Noy said. "This morning seven of them went on a rafting trip. We are advising them to leave, but we are not forcing anyone who doesn't want to."

Lior Melamed of Givatayim told Ynet that demonstrations were held in La Paz Monday morning, but the situation in general was calm.

"Two hours ago the demonstrators disconnected the water supply to the entire city," he said. "The demonstrations reached the area in which our hotel, The Lobo, is located."

Melamed said some 80 Israelis are currently staying in the hotel.

Travel warning issued

"An operation is being organized to get us to the airport tonight in taxi cabs or buses," he said. "From there they will fly us to Peru."

When asked whether he intends to return to Israel in light of the recent events, Melamed said, "No way, we plan to continue traveling."

The Foreign Ministry has recently published a travel warning for those planning to visit Bolivia. The warning stated that since May 2005 Bolivia has seen mass protests and road-blockings in its major cities, especially in La Paz.

"Currently the border crossings and airport are open, but flights in and out of the airport are irregular," the warning said. "In light of the political instability and for fear the sensitive situation may escalate, the Foreign Ministry advises Israelis to refrain from visiting Bolivia."