At least 43 foreign pro-Palestinian activists who arrived in Israel for a “fly-in” protest April 15 were detained at Ben Gurion Airport.
Two protesters, citizens of France and Italy, made it through security to Bethlehem.
Thirty-one of the detained activists were transferred to a detention center and 12 were deported to their point of origin, Israeli police told reporters. Nine local activists who protested the detentions at the airport also were arrested.
The foreign activists who arrived from several European countries and North America are part of the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign, in which activists declare their intention to travel to the West Bank to highlight that there is no way to visit what they call Palestine without traveling through Israel.
The group had plans to travel to Bethlehem and lay a cornerstone for an educational institution. The campaign said it expected up to 2,500 activists to attempt to make it to Israel.
Several airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France and Easyjet, canceled the flights of known activists before they could leave from their points of origin. Israel had requested that airlines prevent activists from boarding flights. In addition, the airlines would have absorbed the cost of the return flight for activists turned away from Israel and sent back to their point of origin.
More than 600 unarmed policemen were stationed at the Tel Aviv–area airport to intercept the activists, according to Israel Radio.
April 15 was the day after Passover ended, one of Ben Gurion Airport’s busiest flying days.
Activists who managed to arrive in Israel reportedly received a sarcastic letter issued by the Prime Minister’s Office thanking them for “choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian choices” instead of protesting human rights abuses and terrorists in Syria, Iran and Gaza, according to the Jerusalem Post, which printed a copy of the letter.
The letter suggested to the activists that they “first solve the real problems of the region, and then come back and share with us your experience.” It also tells them to “Have a nice flight.” — jta