Asia

Home page

Asia

Israel deports pro-Palestinian activists: report

06 July 2011 20:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Several French and Belgian pro- Palestinian activists who arrived via Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport have been deported in recent days, local daily Ha’aretz reported Wednesday, APA reports quoting news.xinhuanet.com website.

The five were said to be the first arrivals of the pro- Palestinian fly-in campaign, according to the report.

The Israel police spokesperson was unavailable for comment at the moment.

Organizers of the "Welcome to Palestine" have said that hundreds of mostly European activists are planning to fly to Israel in the next several days, in order to take part in events in the West Bank.

Israeli officials are readying for the prospect of upwards of 1, 000 protestors declaring at the terminal’s customs checkpoints that they have arrived in order to visit the West Bank. If they are allowed in, they plan to take part in Palestinian solidarity events.

However, in the event they are turned away, police, other security forces and government bodies are bracing for possible protests at the airport.

"I already have my ticket for Friday, traveling with El Al of course," French activist Nicolas Sheshni said, according to the Ynet news site.

"We have no intention of staging a political protest inside the Israeli territory," Sheshni said of his expected group of 300 activists, "we only want to tour the Palestinian territories and show solidarity with the Palestinian people."

In response, the Israeli police and other security forces are deploying hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes officers. A number of relevant government ministries will also be on hand to try to thwart what Israel considers a provocation against its sovereignty.

Anyone "who attempt to break the law and disrupt public order will not be allowed to enter Israel, and will be returned to their countries of origin," Israeli Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aaronovitch said on Tuesday.