Amazon suspends sales in Israel

The online retail giant Amazon is now barring orders to Israel, even as flights to and from the Jewish state resume.

By World Israel News Staff

The internet retailer Amazon has suspended service to customers in Israel, barring new orders to addresses in the Jewish state.

The suspension began days into the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, after air travel into and out of Israel was halted amid daily ballistic missile attacks from Iran.

Customers seeking to place orders for addresses in Israel found themselves unable to make purchases, with the site displaying a message regarding the temporary cessation of shipments to Israel.

“Due to local restrictions beyond our control, we cannot accept new orders or provide delivery to your area at this time,” the message reads. “We will resume services as soon as conditions allow.”

As part of the service suspension, items listed on the website that had hitherto been labelled as shipping to Israel have now had the label removed.

This marks the first total suspension of shipments to Israel by Amazon, which continued to allow orders to Israeli addresses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite attempts to attack Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Other major online retailers, including Next, iHerb and AliExpress, continue to allow orders to Israel, despite the limited air traffic at Israeli airports.

Last week, Israel reopened its skies to international civilian air travel, albeit with major restrictions, initially permitting only inbound repatriation flights for Israelis who had been stranded abroad since the war broke out on June 13.

Since then, the Israel Airports Authority has permitted a gradual resumption of outbound air travel, though flights remained limited to 50 passengers per plane.

With the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday, however, and the lifting of emergency restrictions inside Israel, air travel is expected to expand in the near future, with the Transportation Ministry lifting the remaining limitations.