''Air Flotilla' activists at protests in Bil'in, Kalandiya'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 07/09/2011 17:18
Organizers claim pro-Palestinian activists who managed to pass border control at Ben-Gurion Airport are participating in W.Bank protests.
Israeli activists protest at B-G airport, Friday. Photo: Ronen Zvulun / Reuters
Pro-Palestinian activists that managed to pass border control at Ben-Gurion Airport as part of the "air flotilla" arrived in the West Bank on Saturday and were present for clashes with security forces in Nabi Saleh, Channel 2 reported.
Earlier, "Welcome to Palestine" organizers said that fly-in activists would be participating in events marking the anniversary of the International Court of Justice's ruling on the West Bank security barrier.
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The statement said the European activists would be participating in demonstrations in Bil'in and Kalandiya.
The clashes in Nabi Saleh resulted in several arrests, the IDF spokesperson confirmed, but would not comment on the nationality of those arrested.
On Saturday morning, thirty nine pro-Palestinian activists that arrived at
Ben-Gurion Airport were refused entry to
the country and were taken to Ela Prison in Beersheba for questioning .
The Immigration and Population Authority reported that the activists arrived on a Lufthansa flight late Friday night.
124 activists have been detained in prisons around the country in total and were awaiting deportation, including 76 women and 48 men.
Police
on Friday said that 69 activists had been denied entry. Four of those denied
entry were sent back to their original destinations, while the rest were
taken into custody until flights could be arranged, Army Radio
reported.
Two of the flights, one EasyJet from Geneva and one Alitalia, were diverted to Terminal 1, where police combed passengers for pro-Palestinian activists expected to attempt entry into the country as part of the "Air Flotilla," Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Police
believed a bulk of foreign pro-Palestinian activists were on those jets.
After
police finished checking the flights, passengers not connected to the
groups of activists were ferried back to Terminal 3. The suspected
activists were taken to a separate area of the airport for questioning.
The
activists involved represented a number of different countries,
including the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, and the
Netherlands.
Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino said his officers "succeeded in meeting the mission set by the government." Undercover
agents and police continued to be deployed at the airport as more
"air flotilla" participants were expected to arrive.
Meanwhile, six left-wing Israeli activists were
arrested after causing a disturbance in the arrivals area at Terminal
Three, police added.
"Five males and one female are being questioned," Rosenfeld said.
The activists held up signs inside the terminal saying "Welcome to Palestine."
Tovah Lazaroff, Herb Keinon, and Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.