To: All USAID/West Bank and Gaza Contractors Subject: Changes in Country Clearance Approval and Travel to Gaza

Dear Contractors:

The purpose of this notice is to infotm you of changes to the Mission's country clearance requirement and changes in policy on travel to Gaza. The changes below apply equally to subcontractors.

Country Clearance

The Mission has determined that contractors no longer need to obtain country clearance from the Mission for their staff and consultants. Instead, contractors must notify their respective Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) of the arrival and departure of their expatriate U.S. citizen (including dual U.S. citizens) and third country national (TCN) (including Israeli citizens) staff and consultants, including their origin and destination of travel. Contractors remain responsible for obtaining the necessary international travel approvals, as applicable, in accordance with the terms and conditions of their respective award. The Mission Contracting Officer retains the prerogative to reactivate the requirement for obtaining country clearance should security or other conditions deem it necessary.

As a reminder, U.S. citizens are advised to register with the U.S. Embassy in Tel-Aviv and/or the U.S. Consulate General (ConGen) in Jerusalem through the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) website (https://travelregistration.state.gov). Up-to-date information on security conditions can also be accessed at http://israel.usembassy.gov and http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov as well as on the ConGen Facebookpage available at https://www.facebook.com/jerusalemConsular. For travel to Gaza, see http://www.gaza-nso.org.