Is it true that Israel allows flying with an unlimited amount of liquids in hand luggage?

Question

I've recently seen several news articles that claim that Israel has no restrictions on liquids in hand luggage. E.g. The Telegraph

“I have certain issues with their approach, but Israel is one of the very few countries that refused to adopt the liquids, aerosols and gels regime. You can go through the airport there with them because they say if you’re a law abiding citizen why shouldn’t you?”

Similar article from Western Journalism:

No TSA-naked-scanners are to be found in the Israeli national airport, and you don’t have to take your shoes off; liquids in your hand luggage won’t be confiscated. The whole process of the carry-on luggage and body screening takes place before you go to the passport control and are allowed to proceed to the gate.”

However reading up El Al's baggage policies it seems that the rules are different:

• The volume of each container containing the liquid cannot exceed 100 ml (3.4 oz)

• All items must be packed together in a reseal-able plastic bag

• The contents of the bag cannot exceed 1 liter

Which is pretty much the same as with any other European airline. So the questions are:

1. Is it true that Israel allows an unlimited amount of liquids in hand luggage?
2. If so, on which airlines/flights are you allowed to make use of this liberal policy?

Answer 1

I flew Tel Aviv–Amman earlier this year on Royal Jordanian. On my way to the security screen between land and airside, I quickly drank up the bottle of orange juice I had with me under the impression I would have had to dispose of it anyway. However, that assumption was wrong. Quite a few other members of my group kept liquids in bottles through the screening and were allowed to take it on the Royal Jordanian plane to Amman.

Thinking back, I notice I never saw any sign or video of ‘you are not allowed to take liquids in excess of … with you’ as you frequently see on European airports.

On our connection flight Amman–Munich, we again passed a security screening, but this time with the explicit notice of passengers flying to the EU not being allowed liquids in excess of you know. And this was enforced, this time round.

While I only have a single data point, I conclude that it is true: Israel allows departing and arriving passengers to carry liquids; and since there are no maxima posted anywhere, I assume this is technically unlimited.

Answer 2

The El Al page states:

Most airports in the world have adopted the model implemented in the United States and the European Union regarding liquids permitted aboard in hand luggage. It is recommended to follow the regulations carefully so that you do not have to dispose of prohibited items in your luggage.

Generally, unpleasantness can be avoided if liquids are packed into your baggage stored in the hold of the aircraft.

The other articles you quoted are about airports in Israel. Those airports use their own security model instead of the US/EU security model, most notably including:

Departing passengers are questioned by highly trained security agents before they reach the check-in counter.

This allows them to not care about liquids for flights departing from an Israeli airport. For flight departing from other airports, El Al can't fully implement their own security model because the host country provides security, not El Al. So for these flights they follow the rules of the host country.

Of course there are exceptions: source

The detailed information below applies to passengers flying to and from the following destinations: the United States, European Union countries, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, China, Hong Kong, Mumbai (India), Bangkok (Thailand) and Joh​annesburg (South Africa).​

So on these flights from Israel you have limitations on liquids. The list implies there are no limitations for other countries.