Safety Instructions in KKL-JNF Forests

• Fires should be lit in forests only in places specially designed and designated for the purpose. KKL-JNF recreational areas provide barbeque facilities in designated spots.
  
• When visiting a recreational area, please look for the designated spot for barbequing. 
  
• Take note of wind strength and direction before lighting a fire. If the spot you’ve found is completely open and there’s a strong wind, don’t light a fire there.
  
• All branches, twigs and leaves must be cleared from the area around the barbeque before the fire is lit.
  
• Flammable substances such as petrol or oil must never be poured on the fire once it is alight. Objects made of flammable material must not be thrown into the fire, as they can explode.
  
• It is vital to remain at the site until the fire has gone out completely! After the fire has been extinguished with water and covered with soil, the embers should be raked over to ensure that no hot coals or ashes remain.
  
•  If a small fire has spread to forest or woodland near the barbeque, it must be isolated immediately to prevent its spreading further. This can be done by beating the fire with beaters, green branches or blankets and by pouring water on it and covering it with earth.
  
• If the flames are leaping higher, people and vehicles must be evacuated from the area of the blaze, and the Israel Fire Service must be telephoned at once on 102. KKL-JNF’s Forest Hotline information service can be called on 1-800-350-550 for detailed information on how to prevent and extinguish fires in forests and open spaces.

• You are responsible for your personal safety while visiting the forest and using the forest installations. Please do not endanger yourself or other visitors. Ensure your activity suits forest conditions and weather, and equip yourself accordingly.
  
• You are kindly requested to only use the roads and trails marked by KKL-JNF or The Israel Trails Committee. Forest roads are intended for vehicles, pedestrians and bikers. Take care and behave accordingly. Use the routes with care and beware of skidding and muddy roads. 
  
• Do not approach or enter cisterns, caves, buildings, etc. Avoid cliff edges. Rock-climbing and rappelling are forbidden.
  
• Do not enter water pools or drink from them.
  
• Beware of fire. Do not light fires except at sites and installations designed for that purpose. When you are finished, make sure the fire is completely extinguished.
  
• Keep the forest clean. Throw trash into appropriate receptacles or take it with you.
  
• It is forbidden to create roads or trails, put up signs of any kind or construct any sort of installation in the forest.
   
• The forest and its installations have been developed for your enjoyment. Protect wildlife, plants and the forest environment.
  
• Staying in the forest after dark is prohibited, unless the required
  safety measures are taken.

It’s important for you to know that the State of Israel contains a number of minefields, which can present a danger to visitors. Minefields may be situated in close proximity to communities, farmland or popular hiking trails. They are fenced and clearly marked.
 
Mines can sometimes also be found in areas adjacent to the fenced-in minefields. With the passing years, mines are sometimes washed out of the fenced areas onto unmarked territory. As it is impossible to fence such large tracts of land, these areas are marked with prominent signs only, and movement within them is restricted to designated trails.
 
Please observe the following safety precautions:

•  If you are walking, cycling or using an all-terrain vehicle, please keep only to the marked trails, for your own protection and that of nature.
  
• Do not climb over fences, except in places where it is expressly permitted to do so. You’ve come to a fenced area? Don’t go inside it.
  
• If you encounter an unfamiliar, unidentified or otherwise suspicious object in the course of your trip, do not touch it on any account! It could be the remnants of a mine.
  
• If you’ve taken a wrong turn and entered an area you suspect may be mined – stop, stay where you are and call the security services and / or the police.
  
• How do you recognize a suspicious area? It will be surrounded by a fence and / or yellow signs marked with red triangles.
  
• The rules of behavior when near a minefield were supplied by the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s Mine Removal Authority.