Friday, July 8, 2011

Pro-Palestinian Activists Try To Seize Plane

Several pro-Palestinian activists trying to reach the international airport of Tel Aviv were prevented from flying into European airports, and six others were evicted Friday shortly after arriving in Israel .

The militants say they want to conduct a peaceful mission in the West Bank to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Israel, which controls access to the West Bank, fear of new incidents with foreign militants from an Israeli assault against Gaza flotilla in which nine Turkish citizens were killed in May 2010.

Hundreds of militants had planned to arrive at the Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv from Thursday and until this weekend. Israel has deployed hundreds of police at the airport and asked foreign airlines to prevent people on a list drawn up by Israel to embark on flights to Israel.

At Israel's request, several companies have prevented a total of 200 people in Europe to board flights to Israel, said Micky Rosenfeld, spokesman for the Israeli police. "The companies have not allowed to fly because we told them clearly that they could not enter Israel," he said.

At the airport Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle, many people were turned away check-in counters, and demonstrators later gathered at the terminal, shouting "Boycott Israel." Cynthia Beatt, a British woman living in Germany who wanted to travel in the West Bank, told the Associated Press have been prevented from boarding a Lufthansa flight on Friday morning in Berlin.

In Geneva, 40 people were prevented from boarding a flight to Tel Aviv EasyJet at the request of Israeli authorities, said Adrian Fuhrer, spokesman for the company to lower costs.

Israeli Minister of Public Safety, Yitzhak Aharonovitch said at Ben-Gurion that the list of pro-Palestinian activists denied entry to Israel included 340 names. According to the organizers of the mission in the West Bank, about 600 people had to travel.

Six militants who managed to land Friday in Israel were expelled in the afternoon, said Aharonovitch.

Awaited the arrival of militants, mostly from Europe, has no connection with the "Freedom Flotilla", who wants to send humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip despite the naval blockade imposed by Israel, but whose vessels are currently blocked in Greece by local authorities.

The militants say they want to travel in the West Bank in solidarity with the Palestinians, and some wish to participate in events organized every week against Israel in East Jerusalem and West Bank. All activities will ensure that their non-violent.


No comments:

Post a Comment