JERUSALEM, Israel - Ignoring warnings from the government's Counter-Terrorism Bureau, thousands of Israelis headed for seaside resorts in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

The majority of Israelis entering Egypt through the Taba border crossing were Arab families, en route to the plush hotels in Taba, while lesser numbers of Jewish families preferred the isolated stretches of Red Sea beaches.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis chose Turkey's popular Antalya resort for their Passover holiday.

Despite harsh words from Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and demonstrations by Turkish citizens during Israel's three-week military incursion into the Gaza Strip, thousands of Israeli families are vacationing in the Antalya resorts.

"Israelis realized that there is no alternative -- neither in terms of the price nor of the quality -- to what Antalya has to offer," one Israeli tour operator told YNet news.

"You can't get better deals than that," he said.

Twenty-seven flights at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport are booked for Antalya on Monday and Tuesday.

Source: YNet news