by Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEL AVIV, Israel – On Friday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists began to fly into Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport. The literal mass flight, nicknamed the “flightilla” in reference to a flotilla of aid ships that was denied access to Gaza, was intended to protest the Israeli government’s tendency to bar such people from entering the country. As of Saturday, six activists, all Israeli citizens, have been arrested by national police, and over 100 others, mostly from Europe, remain in Israeli custody, awaiting deportation to their home countries.
The activists intended to take part in a “Welcome to Palestine” campaign, which was first announced in Paris on March 9 in response to a call from 15 Palestinian civil society organizations on the West Bank. During the campaign, they would “pay a visit to Palestinian families, share their daily life for a week, visit the towns, villages and refugee camps, discover the difficulties encountered by their inhabitants, [and] also their culture and expectations.” Because Palestine has no airport, they had no choice but to fly into Ben-Gurion. Though many who wish to visit Palestine lie about their purpose for coming in order to avoid trouble, participants in the initiative stated their intentions to the French Foreign Office, who then forwarded that information to Israeli authorities.
Despite clearly stating the group’s peaceful purpose to Israel months in advance, the country’s immigration department considered participants to be a “security threat.” Believing this to be the case, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began preparations for their arrival. Hundreds of security personnel were deployed to the airport.
The six who were arrested had caused a disturbance in the arrivals area of Terminal Three. They also held up signs that read “Welcome to Palestine.” According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, “Five males and one female are being questioned.”
As another part of the preparations, the Interior Ministry sent airlines in other countries a list of hundreds of names of people, Israel said were “pro-Palestinian radicals” who intended to create chaos at Ben-Gurion. Those who arrived in Israel would be refused entry, so the airlines were asked not to let them on board their planes. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, the no-fly list was compiled by following the organizers’ websites and members’ social networking. “We did not need the Mossad,” he said. “It was all out there in the open.”
The decision was not met with kind words from the would-be activists. One of the more notable incidents happened at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, where 50 people planned to board a Lufthansa flight, but were banned from boarding. They then gathered in the terminal and repeatedly yelled “Boycott Israel,” while police observed. “Charles de Gaulle Airport is under Israeli occupation. We are peaceful people and have no interest in causing disorder at Ben-Gurion Airport,” Olivia Zemour, leader of one of the organizations that helped put the “flightilla” together, told Israel Radio. A similar scene took place in Geneva, where 30 people were denied permission to board.
Those who did make it Tel Aviv did not fare much better. At least two planes were diverted to a different terminal, where suspected activists were taken to a holding area for questioning.
Israel believed it was justified in detaining and denying entry to the activists. Interior Minister Eli Yishal gave credit to the Immigration and Population Authority for preventing their entry. “We will take a firm hand against anyone disregarding [our] laws, and like any other sovereign state, we will use any means at our disposal to prevent people intent on breaking the law from entering the country,” he said. Prime Minister Netanyahu added that every country had the right to prevent the entry of potential “provocateurs.”
Despite the setback, organizers still claim victory. At a news conference in Bethlehem, Palestinian organizer Fadi Kattan said that he was “pleased – sadly pleased” with the Israeli reaction. In his point of view, it revealed the country’s strong anti-Palestinian policies.
Laura Durkay, an American activist who was being held in a pre-interrogation area at Ben-Gurion with at least 30 other people, was also satisfied. “What we want is to get into Palestine, but if that’s not going to happen, then the longer we stay here, the more the media will keep paying attention to our story,” she said. “We want to show how the Israeli government treats people trying to travel to Palestine.”
For more information, please see:
Jerusalem Post — Pro-Palestinian activists plan week of protests in West Bank — 10 July 2011
Ma’an News Agency — Israel deports two activists, 118 still held — 10 July 2011
Al-Jazeera — Israel clamps down on fly-in protest — 9 July 2011
Jerusalem Post — Yishai commends ‘Flightilla’ security forces at B-G airport — 9 July 2011
Arutz Sheva — Six Expelled at Airport; 200 Stopped Abroad — 8 July 2011
New York Times — Israel Blocks Air Travelers to Palestinian Conference — 8 July 2011
Arutz Sheva — Pro-PA ‘Fly-In’ Stymied in Europe — 7 July 2011
Alternative Information Center — Israel Reacts Hysterically to Welcome to Palestine Initiative — 6 July 2011
Bienvenue en Palestine — Press Release, March 9, 2011 — 9 March 2011
