WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department issued a cable to all its diplomatic posts worldwide on Wednesday asking its officials to defer non-essential travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank until Dec. 20 according to a copy of the cable seen by Reuters.

“Embassy Tel Aviv and Consulate General Jerusalem request that all non-essential visitors defer their travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank from December 4-December 20, 2017,” said the cable, which did not specify a reason for the request.