Israel has dropped Kenya from a list of African countries whose nationals were barred from entry over concerns about Ebola, following a formal protest from Nairobi. The reversal came only hours after Kenya objected to being placed on the list, and means Kenyan citizens are no longer caught by the temporary restriction. Rwanda was also taken off the list at the same time.
The restriction had been announced earlier in the week. On Wednesday, June 10, the Israeli embassy in Kenya published a list of five African countries whose citizens, residents and visitors were barred from travelling to Israel. The move was tied to fears over the spread of Ebola in the region, and was communicated directly to airlines operating flights into the country.
According to the notice, the statement was signed by Amnon Shmueli, the head of border control at Ben Gurion International Airport, and sent to all airlines. It instructed carriers not to board foreign citizens and nationals from Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan, effectively closing the door to travellers from those five states.
The measure went beyond the nationality of passengers. The statement further directed that any visitors who had been in any of the listed countries in the 21 days before travelling would also be barred from entering Israel. That clause widened the reach of the restriction well beyond the citizens of the five named states.
Kenya pushed back quickly. On Monday, the Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing'oei, protested Kenya's inclusion on the list, pointing out that the country has no reported Ebola cases that would justify the ban. In remarks shared on his account on X, he argued that Kenya had in fact been at the forefront of regional efforts to respond to Ebola.
The protest produced a swift result. Hours later, the Israeli embassy backtracked, posting that it had removed Kenya and Rwanda from the list of countries subject to the temporary Ebola-related entry restrictions. The climbdown left the other states on the list while easing a point of friction between Nairobi and the Israeli authorities.
The restrictions were set against the backdrop of a worsening outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which reported a record surge of 72 confirmed Ebola cases in a single 24-hour period. That pushed the national total to 782 confirmed cases and 181 deaths. The Africa CDC has raised the alarm over the outbreak, noting that contact tracing coverage had dropped sharply to 56.5% as conflict and displacement hampered containment.