U.S. Embassy Urges All Americans in Israel to Consider Evacuation : Precautions: At least 70,000 people holding U.S. passports live in the Jewish state and occupied territories. Privately, Jerusalem expresses disappointment at move.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv urged American citizens here Friday to consider leaving Israel because of the threat of war in the region.

Referring to “increased tensions due to Iraq’s failure to comply with the U.N. Security Council resolutions,” the U.S. advisory warned Americans of the possibility of “demonstrations, terrorist attacks and other hostile actions against the U.S. government and U.S. citizens in the area.”

“Should hostilities occur in the Persian Gulf, this threat will be heightened,” the announcement said.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has said that he would strike Israel if the U.S.-led military coalition now in the gulf region attempts to drive the Iraqi army out of Kuwait.

There are at least 70,000 U.S. passport-holders living in Israel and the occupied territories, embassy officials said. Many hold dual citizenship.

The U.S. announcement came as a blow to Israel, whose government and tourism officials have been trying to keep tourists and visitors from fleeing home by depicting the country as safe from involvement in any gulf conflict.

Although the Foreign Ministry had no official comment, senior Israeli officials said privately that they were disappointed at the American move.

The embassy warning came two days after the breakdown of U.S.-Iraqi talks in Geneva and four days before the U.N.-imposed Jan. 15 deadline for Iraq to get out of Kuwait or face war.

The warning was part of a broader State Department bulletin advising that “U.S. citizens should consider deferring all travel” in an area stretching from Morocco in North Africa to Pakistan in South Asia, and including Israel.

“Those already in these areas who do not have essential reasons for staying should consider departing,” the advisory said.

The statement added: “Voluntary departure of dependents of U.S. government employees and non-essential staff has been authorized for the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and now Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories.”

The U.S. government is already planning to withdraw its embassy personnel from Baghdad today, preparing for the possibility of war between the United States and Iraq after midnight Tuesday.

Other countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Finland have urged their citizens to leave Israel, and U.N. agencies here have been evacuating non-essential personnel and dependents.

Flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv have been fully booked for the past week, and Israel’s hotels are virtually empty. Several international airlines have canceled flights to Israel for an indefinite period.

In Israel, many citizens have been stocking up on food and emergency supplies such as flashlights, with some markets reporting purchases doubled.

The Ministry of Trade called on the public not to hoard, saying there are enough supplies for two months.

Newspapers warned citizens, in the case of war, not to enter traditional air raid shelters but, because of the possibility of chemical attack, to go into sealed rooms, as high up as possible, because poison gas is heavier than air.

The civil defense agency began sponsoring the first television programs on the subject of protection from nuclear, biological and chemical attack.

Whatever the anxieties of the civilian population, the Israeli military appears to believe that damage from an Iraqi attack would be minimal.

At worst, military officials say, several Iraqi missiles--possibly armed with chemical warheads--could hit crowded city areas. But, due to the lack of accuracy of Iraq’s medium-range Scud missiles, they are just as likely to land on vacant ground, intelligence sources say.

“Today, we are in very good shape, militarily,” said a senior staff officer. “We have had these five months since the Iraqi invasion to get ready, to get the rust, so to speak, off our planes and tanks.

“Our generals have been able to stop thinking about office politics and do what they do best: prepare to defend this country.”

President Chaim Herzog himself summed up Israel’s official response to the Iraqi threat this way:

“I frankly cannot understand the frenzied rush of diplomats, foreigners, U.N. people and airlines to leave the country.

“I do not believe that Israel has much to fear.

“He (Hussein) may fire a few missiles, which may or may not be effective. I believe the government of Israel has handled the situation extremely well and has proved once again that we are an island of stability on which, when the chips are down, the U.S. and the Western world can rely.”