Israel on Friday warned visitors to leave their iPads at home or have the hot-selling tablet computer seized on arrival as the device's wireless signal is 40 times stronger than allowed.

Communications ministry spokesman Yechiel Shavi said several of the appliances already impounded by officials at Israel's Ben Gurion airport would be returned to their owners on departure.

In the case of Israeli residents whose Apple device was confiscated, "they can sell them to Americans," he told AFP.

The touchscreen gadget is so far only on sale in the United States, where federal regulations allow much higher Wi-Fi signal strength than the European standard followed in Israel.

At least 10 iPads have so far been taken from travellers who declared them at Israeli customs, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported. An unknown number could have entered undeclared.

When a version of the device set to European standards goes on the market it would be welcome in Israel, the communications ministry said.

But the onus was on the individual to ascertain that any Wi-Fi equipment they plan to bring into the country meets local standards.

"Around the world thousands of models of computers are manufactured and therefore a customer who buys a device abroad must check that it is suitable for use in Israel," a ministry statement said.