Israelis accounted for less than 1.5 per cent of the 1.5 million tourists who visited the island in the first nine months of 2024.
COLOMBO - Sri Lankan police arrested three men following a US intelligence warning of possible attacks against Israeli tourists visiting the island, the foreign minister said on Oct 24. “We are questioning three local men,” Mr Vijitha Herath told reporters in Colombo. “We are taking the US warning seriously and have increased security.
” Mr Herath said men were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to target a Jewish community centre in the island’s east. Sri Lanka has deployed troops in the surfing resort of Arugam Bay after the US embassy warned of a possible attack, as well as in other popular tourist locations, Mr Herath added, who is also the public security minister. Israelis accounted for less than 1.
5 per cent of the 1.5 million tourists who visited the island in the first nine months of 2024, around 20,000 people altogether. Police, who had set up a hotline for Israelis, said about 570 Israeli citizens were currently in the country.
Arugam Bay, around 400km east of Colombo by road, is a popular destination. The US warning followed social media posts calling for a boycott of Israeli-owned businesses. Police had said a Jewish community centre in Arugam Bay had provoked anger among the region’s Muslim-majority population.
There had also been protests by local Muslim groups against Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hamas i.