World

Israel Blocks Pro-Palestinian Protestors From Entering Country, Deports American Activists

Israel Blocks Pro Palestinian Protestors From Entering Country, Deports American ActivistsTEL AVIV, Israel (The Blaze/AP) — Scores of pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach Israel were blocked at airports in Europe and two American activists who arrived in Israel were deported early Friday, Israeli officials said. On Thursday, The Blaze first reported on Israel’s attempts to block these protestors from reaching the country.

Israel increased security at Ben-Gurion International Airport ahead of the activists’ arrival and asked foreign airlines to prevent blacklisted travelers from boarding Israel-bound flights, as hundreds said they would travel to Israel to protest Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

By midday Friday, no disruptions had been reported at the airport.

At Israel’s request, several airlines barred about 200 would-be protesters from boarding flights to Israel from Europe, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

“The companies did not allow them on the airplanes because we told them clearly they wouldn’t be able to enter Israel,” Rosenfeld said.

One of the organizers, French activist Olivia Zemor, said her group planned only nonviolent activities. The group, “Welcome to Palestine,“ released a statement Friday calling the moves to prevent activists from reaching Israel ”provocative, blackmailing and illegal.”

At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, several would-be protesters were turned away from check-in counters on Friday morning.

A list viewed at the airport by The Associated Press read: “Attached is a list of passengers who will be refused entry to Israel.”

Protesters subsequently gathered in the terminal and shouted “Boycott Israel,” as French police stood by.

Cynthia Beatt, a British citizen living in Germany, told the AP she had been barred from boarding a Lufthansa plane Friday morning in Berlin. She had planned to take part in the protest.

“Lufthansa called me last night and said I would not be allowed to board their plane because Israel denied me entry,” Beatt said.

The detailed lists showed that Israel had been tracking the activists. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, police and intelligence units had followed social networks used by the groups organizing the protest.

Organizers of the protest said a total of about 600 people were scheduled to take part, and Israeli officials said they expected more to land later in the day.

Two activists arrived in Israel from Greece overnight and were deported, said Foreign Ministry official Oded Ben-Hur. He identified them as Americans who had initially planned to join a protest flotilla that had intended to sail to the Gaza Strip but was foiled by the Greek government.

Ben-Hur also said an unspecified number of activists had been allowed through the terminal without incident. Israel has not publicized its criteria for denying entry, but has said peaceful visitors will not be deported.

The activists have placed Israel in an awkward position.

Authorities are determined to keep out people they consider hostile agitators, but critics in Israel have said the government’s high-profile reaction has only served to draw attention to the activists’ attempt to gain publicity.

Israel’s concern is rooted in a number of deadly run-ins with pro-Palestinian activists, both on the high seas and along the frontiers with Lebanon and Syria. The best-known, in May 2010, resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists in a clash with Israeli troops aboard a vessel trying to breach Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel now appears intent on averting a new confrontation by preventing activists from reaching the country.

In Paris, eight activists were blocked Thursday from boarding Malev Airlines flights to Budapest en route to Tel Aviv.

One of those turned away, Philippe Arnaud, said Malev showed him a list provided by Israeli authorities of nearly 400 people barred from Israel. German carriers Lufthansa and Air Berlin said they also received similar lists.

Arnaud said he has been investigated in France for his efforts to boycott Israeli products and was once arrested by Israel for organizing a demonstration in the West Bank.

Malev had no comment.

The French Foreign Ministry said it had warned activists of “the risks inherent in this operation.” In Germany, Lufthansa said it would comply with the Israeli blacklist.

The activists say they are on a weeklong mission to express solidarity with the Palestinians in the West Bank and draw attention to life under Israeli occupation, including travel restrictions.

Visitors can reach the West Bank only through Israeli-controlled crossings, either through international airports or the land border with Jordan. At any given time, hundreds of foreigners, including activists and aid workers, are in the West Bank.

Citing security concerns, Israel bars most Palestinians from entering Israel or using its airport, meaning they must travel to neighboring Jordan to fly out.

Travel restrictions in the Gaza Strip, ruled by the militant Hamas group, are even more rigorous.

Israel allows few people to cross its border with Gaza, and most Gazans can travel abroad only by crossing into Egypt through their shared border.

Comments (119)

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  • quicker
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:18am

    I see they still haven`t got the reply button fixed yet .Hey Blaze this format sucks.

    Report Post » quicker  
  • Grandmadar
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:18am

    @CUTHALU:

    They can excerise free speech at home by writing letters, e-mails, etc. Under the guise of free speech is a hatred like no other. The posts above have it right! Have Jordan and the others give up land…this is not about land. Just like our new Healthcare Bill is not about Healthcare.

    @NOT REALLY Thumbs up on the sarcasm.

    Report Post »  
  • Jenny Lind
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:18am

    Israel was my husband’s favorite port when he was in the Navy, he loved the people and told us no U.S sailor had to buy thier own beer, some one was always offering one to “their good friends, the Americans”. I love Israel too, for work they do to preserve everyones religious histories, their unwavering guts, and for the great people they are. No group has suffered quite like them, they deserve peace, but that is not coming, yet. I, too stand with Israel, as I stand with our wonderfull constitution and the freedoms it gives us. It’s definatly time to get ALL our freedoms back.

    Report Post »  
  • lketchum
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:17am

    Good, kick every single Communist/National Socialist pig out of your country, Israel – perhaps we will grow a set and do the same.

    I am printing up 10,000,000 new bumper stickers this year. They read some old school slogans that still apply:

    The only good National Socialist is a dead National Socialist!
    The only good Communist is a dead Communist!
    Kill a Commie for Mommy!
    The Peace sign is the foot print of the American chicken!
    America, Love Her, or get the phk out!
    Socialism is bad for small children and other living things!
    Give total war on terror a chance!
    I see a jack-booted thug and it dies!
    A vote for Obama is a vote for National Socialism; ask the Germans how that worked out…
    and my new favorites:
    “Real men don’t find love in the sweaty, hairy backsides of other men!”
    “Jane only has one Mom, you moron!”
    “No, it doesn’t take a village, you idiot, it takes a Mom and a Dad!”
    “Choose life, your Mother did!”
    “Cook for your kids and get off your duff!”
    “Let your kids see you sweat from work each day, or be prepared to fight a forty year old for the remote!”

    Report Post » lketchum  
  • MaggieRose
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:14am

    SWEET!! Imagine a country with actual borders and a government that isn’t afraid to protect those borders… wow… wouldn’t that be wonderful?!

    Standing with Israel

    Report Post »  
  • christos
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:59am

    …….Israel is the Apple of +GODS+ eye,picking a fight & meddling with Israel or the Jewish people is picking a fight with +GOD+ you lose,,,go back to making chocolate that isn’t worth eating,TA

    Report Post » christos  
  • dsm
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:58am

    I see some new trolls on here. Israel has every right to protect themselves. Flotillas are not about peace. These American idiots do not understand that if Israel falls, so does the US. It is all about the Western way of life that they despise.

    Report Post »  
  • King David
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:55am

     One day soon,
    the passengers at airports will physically throw these bums out of the airports after a sound thrashing. I suspect it will be Americans, wait ’till we play “Cowboys and activists”… The fact that they were booed is a good beginning. You can’t shame these know nothings.

    Report Post »  
    • Jackson
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:09am

      King David: Cowboy’s and activists! LOVE IT!!!!!
      Permission to plagerize? Please?

      Report Post » Jackson  
  • Cuthalu
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:47am

    Why does Israel fear people exercising free speech so much? Almost as though they are not the free society they claim to be. If they are allowed to remove or prevent others from coming to their country to exercise free speech does that mean other countries can do likewise to their people if they go to countries to exercise their free speech abroad? Or is free speech only a one way street to them?

    Report Post »  
    • King David
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:04am

      Hay Cuthalu

      Have muslims killed anyone today ?

      Seattle Muslims caught in jihad plot sting charged with conspiracy to commit murder

      Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, 33, and Walli Mujahidh, 32, were indicted Thursday. The two men were indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts related to their attempt to attack a military center in Seattle.
      Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis and Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue, have been held in custody since they were apprehended June 22 in a sting operation coordinated by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and Joint Terrorism Task Force.
      The charges against them include conspiracy to murder officers and agents and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

      Report Post »  
    • Cuthalu
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:16am

      I am not sure, how many people have christians killed today or does that not count? Funny you bring up charges being filed against people like you did. In case you were not aware, a person is innocent until proven guilty. I know, a crazy concept!

      Report Post »  
    • Partofthemeltingpot
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:28am

      Israel realizes this group isn’t about free speech. Don’t be naive. Israel has to protect their citizens from an extremely violent group who seeks to wipe them from the face of the earth. If that hurts the feelings of some activist, so be it. Freedom isn‘t free and can’t be taken for grated. Don’t forget, people such as these also wish to occupy and kill us……..

      Report Post »  
    • NJTMATO
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:46am

      @Cuthalu
      Maybe it‘s because free speech isn’t really free from the other side, their “speech” says that they want to annialate the Israelis, they want to push them into the sea, they want to destroy Israel and it’s people…all of the Jews…….And, they don’t just “say” it, they work on it. This is NOT a free speech issue!

      Report Post » NJTMATO  
    • KoolCaptain
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:53am

      CUTHALU Israel fears no one. They do defend against their enemies, and those who support their enemies, I stand with Israel. You are one of their enemies, and a tool of the Middle Eastern tyrants who want to destroy the Jews.

      Report Post »  
    • skilaxdad
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 9:23am

      Cuthalu

      It’s because your version of “free speech” amounts to breaking the law. Once “protestors” break the law, they become “criminals”, and must be dealt with accordingly. The Israelis are not stupid. They are fully aware of what the intention of the flotillas and “protests” are. It is all about inciting violence, which is against the law. Or, were those “peaceful protestors” climbing the fence along Israel’s boarder, invading a sovereign nation, merely exercising “free speech”? Free speech does not mean freedom of expression, especially if the way ones choose to “express” themselves is illegal.

      Wake up and smell the dog crap, will you!

      Report Post »  
    • HigherPowered
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:23pm

      I guess you don’t understand that Israel is a sovereign nation. The fact that this country (USA) has a constitution that guarantees free speech has no bearing on other countries. Most other nations do not offer such guarantees. And even our own rights are constitutionally extended only to those that are here legally.
      That being said, Israel is as justified in excluding troublemakers as any other sovereign nation.
      Before you ask another stupid question, please take a second to reflect on the fact that you have received a poor education, and you need to address those defficiencies.

      Report Post » HigherPowered  
  • hgaut
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:41am

    Wow our goverment should take a lesson from the Israelis. Maybe our twin towers would still be standing. Kudos to Israel!

    Report Post » hgaut  
  • hightide
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:34am

    So some people who do not live in Israel want to go there and protest in favor of some people launching rockets into Israel every day and Israel finds out they are coming and won’t let them in the country. They are in support of a terrorist organization that in the past strapped bombs on the backs of young people and exploded themselves on buses, in restaurants, and in the street.
    So what is the problem with that? I dare anyone to make plans to go into Iran and protest their treatment of women and see what happens. Oh, that’s right, they have held some hikers who wandered into their country by mistake, or got close , or what ever, for years in an Iranian prison. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE!!!
    The sad thing is that the people of Gaza are not all bad people. Only the terrorists that rule the place are bad. Many have turned away from Islam because they see it as a religion of hate and death, which it is.

    Report Post »  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:30am

    YAY, ISRAEL!!! Someone with courage to do the RIGHT THING!!!! Hellllloooooo, looney leftists, your agendas are straight from hell. Have you all ever noticed that? They go against GOOD and RIGHT and certainly against GOD. Helllllooooo, anybody home? Guess not, Your lights aren’t even on. It’s all dark and yucky where you guys live.

    We stand with ISRAEL at our house, too, and are eagerly awaiting the yard signs from Glenn that say so!

    GOD BLESS AMERICA, ISRAEL AND ALL HIS KIDS!

    Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:19am

    .
    @Notreally

    You need a ticket? Uncle Spank will buy one for you……………..

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
  • Lucy Larue
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:15am

    I stand with Israel!
    These Flotilla Fools deserve the complete failure of their “mission”.
    The Israelis are insuring that .
    MAZELTOV!

    Report Post »  
  • LadyIzShy
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:12am

    good for them its about time they started to do things like this. now if we would follow thier lead we might be better off

    Report Post » LadyIzShy  
  • rdsxfn
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:04am

    As me & my house, we stand with Israel!

    Report Post »  
  • OrpheumSA33
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:03am

    Go Israel!

    Report Post »  
  • AmericanWomanFirst
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:00am

    This house stands with Israel…as my Dad use to say: nip it in butt before it begins.

    Report Post » AmericanWomanFirst  
  • Ironmaan
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:55am

    Why doesnt Jordan, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia give up some land for the Palestinian state? They were also part of the Palestinian mandate prior to the creation of Israel. Why do they need the small strip of land that is Israel? Answer: because it has nothing to do with a Palestinian state; the real purpose is to get rid of freedom in the middle east.
    http://guerillatics.com

    Report Post »  
    • DonaldH
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:09am

      Ironmaan
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:55am
      Why doesnt Jordan, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia give up some land for the Palestinian state? They were also part of the Palestinian mandate prior to the creation of Israel. Why do they need the small strip of land that is Israel? Answer: because it has nothing to do with a Palestinian state; the real purpose is to get rid of freedom in the middle east.
      ____________________________________________________________________________________
      Especially Jordan!! Even before Balfour Jordan had consumed all of Palestine into their boarders and had effectively banished any currency and national I.D. of what was once Palestinian….

      Report Post » DonaldH  
    • NOV2HURRY
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:07am

      You sir have nailed it right on the head. All that arab surrounding land and no mention ever to my knowledge any real dialog about them all contributing a sliver of their countries for mid east peace. Again, they just want the palastinians as an excuse to destroy Israel.

      Report Post »  
    • lketchum
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:20am

      Because, as Jordan said many times in the last century: “There is no ‘Palestinian state’ and there never has been one – and if there were, it would be called Jordan, because there aren‘t any ’Palestinians’, and there never have been, because if there were they’d be called, Jordanians!”

      Report Post » lketchum  
  • Smug
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:54am

    Good for Israel! They know a trouble maker when they see one. I wish we would be more like Israel and not indulge in this PC crap that is getting this country into so much trouble………..MSSMUG

    Report Post »  
  • quinteastwood
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:52am

    Good move Isreal.The hell with what the rest of the world says.You gotta do what you gotta do.I wish our Country had that policy.I wish the office of President of The United States was occupied.

    Report Post » quinteastwood  
  • notreally
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:50am

    Bravo the protesters! Why doesn’t everyone support the Palestinians? I love the Palestinians! And they love me!! Even their holy Quran expresses that love!!!

    -Quran 2:191: “… kill the disbelievers wherever we find them …”
    -Quran 8:7: “Wipe the infidels out to the last.”
    -Quran 8:12: “I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.’”
    -Quran 4:89: “They (infidels) desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah’s way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.”
    -Quran: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews.”

    Report Post »  
    • TXMD
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:13am

      Sort of makes you feel so very comfortable when it is said that the core belief is so peaceful and loving. Seems that the core is convert or die, but not just dead, but a very painful death.

      Report Post » TXMD  
  • Elvis
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:42am

    We should sub out Isreal to replace TSA!

    Report Post » Elvis  
  • Lee_in_PA
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:37am

    The Israeli’s know how to deal with problems. Why aren’t we using their model at our airports?

    Report Post » Lee_in_PA  
    • louise
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:07am

      LEE-IN-PA

      Amen to that! I have been saying the same thing since shortly after 9/11

      Report Post » louise  
    • ccr
      Posted on July 8, 2011 at 10:05am

      Why, that would make TOO MUCH SENSE!! And……..some in the USA have a different “agenda” than most of us!

      Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:34am

    .
    Ready Aim Fire…..

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
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