Israel on Tuesday urged its nationals and all Jews not to embark on pilgrimage to Judaism's holy sites in Tunisia, fearing Al-Qaeda attacks to avenge the death of its leader Osama bin Laden.
"Given that Al-Qaeda wants to avenge the assassination of Osama bin Laden, and that there are many Jews who want to visit Tunisia for the (Jewish) celebration of Lag Ba'Omer (on May 22), we advise against travelling to Tunisia," reads a statement by Israeli anti-terrorist organisations.
On Monday, the head of the Jewish community in Djerba, Perez Trabelsi, told AFP that pilgrimage celebrations at the Ghriba synagogue, the oldest Jewish place of worship in Africa, had been cancelled due to "a lack of overseas visitors".
The Jewish community in Tunisia, which has shrunk from 100,000 in 1956 to 1,000 today, traditionally celebrates the pilgrimage on the 33rd day of Passover.
Israel and Tunisia do not have diplomatic relations but in 1996 established "interests sections" in each other's capitals and appointed "permanent representatives".
The representations were recalled in October 2000 at the behest of Tunisia in the wake of the Intifada, or Palestinian uprising.