Duke Places Israel, Palestine on Restricted Regions List

Following the outbreak of armed conflict in the region, the entirety of Palestinian territories and the country of Israel have been added to the Duke Restricted Regions List (Duke RRL), effective this past Saturday.

These restrictions will be in place for 30-days, at which time Duke leadership will revisit and reassess the restrictions.

“This is the first time in 15+ years of having a restricted regions list that Duke has limited travel to the entirety of the Palestinian Territories. It’s the first time that any part of Israel has been on the list,” said Christy Parrish, Director of Global Travel Policies and Incident Management at Duke.

The Duke RRL identifies areas outside the United States where the health, safety and security of travelers are deemed to be at elevated risk or where U.S. sanctions apply.

Duke travel policy prohibits “learners” (undergraduate and graduate and professional students, house staff and residents) from traveling to regions on the list unless they receive a waiver in advance and register their visit.

Faculty and staff are allowed to travel to these regions, but it is strongly recommended that they enter the trip into the Duke Travel Registry.

The information in the registry is confidential and only used for emergency purposes. Registering allows Duke officials to get in touch with known travelers during a crisis and connect them with Duke’s providers, International SOS and CIGNA as well as U.S. government officials who are on the ground and can help in an emergency.

All members of the Duke community are required to register any Duke-supported foreign visits in the Duke Travel Registry. This requirement does not apply to personal trips.

For more about the Duke RRL and its management, visit the Duke Global Travel Policy website.