Thirty-eight 'Flightilla' activists deported to Europe

Remainder of 124 pro-Palestinian activists being detained are expected to be put on flights in the near future.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Police at Ben Gurion Airport 311 (R) (photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
Police at Ben Gurion Airport 311 (R)
(photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
Thirty-eight people who were detained following attempts to enter Israel as part of a campaign called "Welcome to Palestine" - dubbed "Flightilla" by the Israeli media - were deported back to Europe on Sunday.
The detainees, Germans, Belgians and a French citizen were put onto a flight operated by German airliner Lufthansa, Israel Radio reported.
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The remainder of those being held in Israeli prisons pending deportation were expected to be sent home in the near future.
As of Saturday, 124 pro-Palestinian activists were being held in several prisons. Neither the police nor the activists could say how many had agreed to be put on planes back home and how many were refusing to sign papers agreeing to be deported.
The group is made up of 76 women and 48 men, including activists from the US, Spain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Some of them are being held in Givon prison in Ramle and others in Ela prison in Beersheba.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report