- 7 febr 2011
Israelis to receive expedited clearance in US airports
Newark Airport
Israel joins US program that will allow travelers go through automated biometrics checks upon arrival.
The Foreign Ministry and US Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Private Sector Douglas Andrew Smith agreed on Sunday that Israel should take part in an American pilot program that would facilitate shared use of the biometric database in order to ease the customs and security checks for travelers arriving at American airports.
The program, entitled Global Entry, will allow expedited clearance to some Israeli citizens upon arriving in the US. The Netherlands already takes part in the program, and a few other nations are waiting to join it as well.
According to estimations, hundreds of Israelis will be able to join the test group in the coming months, and utilized the automated biometrics checks similar to those available at Ben Gurion Airport. The US will determine the criteria by which it will decide who is qualified to enroll in the program.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon, this is the first step towards the cancellation of the US visa requirements for Israelis. Ayalon promoted the subject in a conversation with Smith.
"This meeting was very important for the cooperation in the field of homelands security," Ayalon told Ynet. "We have here an expression of trust in the citizens of Israel and its systems, and that is big news."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024868,00.html
9 juni 2011
500 Palestinians set for mass ‘fly-in’ to Ben-Gurion Airport
In the wake of “Nakba Day,” “Naksa Day” and an anticipated Gaza-bound flotilla later this month, pro-Palestinian activists are planning to send hundreds of Palestinians living abroad on commercial flights to Ben-Gurion Airport next month in a dramatic display of solidarity.
According to a report released this week by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli NGO, organizers believe the planned Gaza flotilla is too limited in scope, and broader action is needed to “remove the blockade from the entire land of Palestine.”
Organizers said the “fly-in” would occur July 8, the date in 2004 that the UN’s International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that Israel’s West Bank security fence is illegal by international law.
After holding a protest rally at the airport, the arrivals plan to travel to the West Bank to “express solidarity” with Palestinians.
Organizers said 500 people have already scheduled flights to Israel, including Palestinian families from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Germany will be one of the participants’ main departure points.
Fifteen organizations are involved in the initiative, including the influential International Solidarity Movement.
The ISM is active in organizing weekly protests against the West Bank security fence at Bil’in, and in the Free Gaza Movement behind last May’s controversial flotilla.
The NGO report suggests the fly-in may be the product of rivalries between pro-Palestinian groups, and that diverting attention from the Gaza flotilla may be one of the initiative’s chief objectives.
“While we rightly focus on Gaza, we must not forget that Israeli colonial authorities are implementing their racist apartheid policies throughout historic Palestine,” organizers wrote on the website bienvenuepalestine.com.
“In the West Bank (including east Jerusalem) and in the Negev and the Galilee, ethnic cleansing and killing/injuring civilians are just some of the many violations of basic human rights.”
“Israel destroyed the only Palestinian airport, built with our money (European grants). As a result, we have no other option but to go through Israeli security, even though we don’t want to go to Israel,” organizers wrote. “We are pacifists, we will have nothing dangerous in our bags. We call on our elected representatives and our governments during the following months to ensure that we shall be normally and properly treated on our arrival in Ben Gourion [sic] airport, as are Israeli citizens when they come to our countries.”
Meanwhile, a Hamas-linked website called on Palestinian refugees and their descendants to travel to Israel on commercial flights on Saturday and Sunday as part of events commemorating the “Naksa” of Arab defeat in the Six Day War.
The fly-in is touted as part of wider rallies and marches this weekend and early next week.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=223450
19 juni 2011
Barcelona gay leaders say humiliated at Israeli airport
Foreign Ministry slams airport security personnel for 'abusing' the pair of leaders, who were officially invited to participate in Tel Aviv's gay pride parade.
Two leaders of Barcelona's gay community claim that they were subjected to a humiliating security check at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, while trying to leave the country after participating in last week's Tel Aviv gay pride parade.
The conduct of security at the airport has set off a firestorm with the Foreign Ministry, which had extended an official invitation to the pair to participate in Israel's gay pride activities.
David Marti, the general manager for gay pride events in Barcelona, told Haaretz that airport security had stripped his boyfriend whom he was traveling with. The pair were asked a series of personal questions, which Marti said exceeded reasonable limits. The men's personal items were also thoroughly searched.
Marti said the pair was questioned for a long time, with their security check ending just minutes before their plane took off. Marti and his partner managed to make it to their flight at the last minute.
The positive impression that the pair had of Israel after their visit was erased by the security check, Marti said. He indicated that he understands Israel's need to carry out strict security checks, but he says that the person checking him his partner went overboard.
The gay community leaders came to Tel Aviv in a show of support after their counterparts in Madrid cancelled last year's visit because of the events surrounding Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.
The pair informed the Israeli Embassy in Madrid about the incident. The embassy told the Foreign Ministry about the complaint, saying that the security check had damaged Israeli public relations efforts.
"Security personnel at the airport need to understand that they are the face of the State of Israel," a foreign ministry authority said about the incident. "They are the first and last thing that people who come to Israel see."
Speaking about Marti and his partner, the official called them "guests of the state" adding that "all of their details had been passed from the foreign ministry to the airport in advance."
"The security inspector severely harmed Israel's image," the official said.
The official explained that the ministry had invested thousands of dollars to bring these community leaders to Israel, who were "impressed by the country."
"The last thing that we do to them is abuse them and they say that they don't want to come back again," the official said.
The Israel Airports Authority said in response that they had not received any knowledge, as of the morning in question, of the incident occurring.
"Security personnel at Ben Gurion International Airport work day and night for the security of the passengers," the Airport Authority statement said, adding that the security personnel treat all passengers the same, regardless of their sexual orientation or beliefs.
http://fwd4.me/04HE 4 jul 2011, 10:20 , Respect -
Maria 3 juli 2011
Fly-ins to take place of flotillas?
Palestinians urge hundreds of pro-Gaza activists to gridlock Ben Gurion International Airport.
The Gaza-bound flotilla may be encountering difficulties, but Israel is already gearing for the next challenge – a pro-Palestinian fly-in.
Ynet learned Sunday that the Internal Security Ministry and the police have started preparing for the possibility that hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists will fly into Ben Gurion International Airport next week, with the sole purpose of disrupting its operations.
According to the Palestinian Wafa News Agency, hundreds of activists from 40 groups intend to take part in the "Welcome to Palestine" fly-in, set to take place on July 8-16.
"Welcome to Palestine's" Facebook page, which was launched in May, urges participants to fly to Israel and declare upon arrival that they are heading to Palestine.
Once the activists land, they have scheduled tours in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, the West Bank, the Jordan Rift Valley and Jerusalem.
"The visitors will enjoy Palestinian hospitality, create partnerships and bonds and volunteer in Palestinian cities alongside hundreds of local activists," the report said.
Organizers of the fly-in have reportedly urged the international community "to recognize the Palestinians' basic right to host visitors from overseas and assert the right to have their own citizens visit Palestine without being harassed.
"Israel may be trying to isolate is, but we invite everyone to stand by us. We reject the attempted to limit our call," the organizers said.
The Foreign Ministry said that the initiative was "taken very seriously," and believe that pro-Palestinian activists have every intention to land in Israel's international gateway and cause a ruckus for the sheer sake of garnering the attention of the global media.
"We don’t think such internet initiatives can be dismissed," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor told Ynet. "The activists are motivated, and buying an airline ticket is easier than arriving by boat. This has to be taken seriously."
Still, Palmor stressed the ministry was not overly concerned: "There are known groups who are trying to stage 'organized embarrassments' for Israel, especially in illegal manners. Those who fail at sea are doomed to fail here, too."
Sunday afternoon saw the Foreign and Internal Security ministries and the police hold a situation assessment.
Homeland Security sources told Ynet that any passenger arriving in Israel and attempting to manufacture provocations at Ben Gurion International Airport will be detained by law enforcement officials and dealt with accordingly.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4090567,00.html
Report: Hundreds to challenge Israeli restrictions on traveling to Occupied Territories
Israel is not done with the second flotilla, and a new effort to challenge its control over the travel to and from Palestinian Territories might take place this week – and in no other place than the Tel Aviv International Airport
A coalition of organizations has mad public [French, PDF] its intention to have hundreds of international activists land at Ben-Gurion airport this Friday, July 8th, and openly declare their wish to visit the West Bank.
Until now, visitors coming in solidarity with the Palestinians had to hide their destination when questioned at the airport, or risk immediate deportation. A couple of years ago, American scholar Noam Chomsky was denied entry to Israel at the Jordanian border after declaring his intention to give a lecture in a Palestinian institution.
The closure over the West Bank works in the opposite direction as well: Many don’t know it, but Israel controls all air and land entries to the West Bank, and not only to Gaza. Palestinians wishing to travel abroad must apply for special permission from the Israel authorities. Those wishing to travel to the United States must have another permission, to visit the Consulate in East Jerusalem and obtain their visa.
Human rights organizations have often cited the authority over entries and exits from the occupied territories as further proof to the effective control of Israel over Palestinians’ lives, contrary to the claim that since the Oslo agreement, “Palestinians run their own business.”
The organizations that are planning the protest at Ben-Gurion airport have declared that 600 activists have already bought tickets to Israel, but so far I haven’t been able to confirm this. When I have more details, I will report them.
http://972mag.com/bengurion372011-12578/ 5 jul 2011, 13:44 , Respect -
Maria 5 juli 2011
The million missing Israelis
Over more than six decades of statehood, successive Israeli governments have repeatedly stressed the centrality of Jewish immigration and the Law of Return of all Jews to Israel for the well-being, security, and survival of the nation. Yet while much is published on Jewish immigration to Israel, considerably less information is available about Jewish emigration from Israel.
Government estimates of the numbers of Israelis residing abroad vary greatly due mainly to the lack of an adequate recording system. Consequently, scholars and others have questioned the accuracy of government figures. Besides the statistical and methodological shortcomings, the numbers of Israeli expatriates are open to considerable debate and controversy because of their enormous demographic, social, and political significance both within and outside Israel.
At the lower end is the official estimate of 750,000 Israeli emigrants -- 10 percent of the population -- issued by the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, which is about the same as that for Mexico, Morocco, and Sri Lanka. The Netanyahu government places the current number of Israeli citizens living abroad in the range of 800,000 to 1 million, representing up to 13 percent http://fwd4.me/05tM of the population, which is relatively high among OECD http://fwd4.me/05tP countries. Consistent with this latter figure is the estimated 1 million Israelis in the Diaspora reported at the first-ever global conference http://fwd4.me/05tR of Israelis living abroad, held in January 2011.
Current estimates of Israelis living abroad are substantially higher than those for the past. During Israel's first decade, some 100,000 Jews are believed to have emigrated http://fwd4.me/05tS from Israel. By 1980, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics estimated http://fwd4.me/05tT some 270,000 Israelis living abroad for more than a year or seven percent of the population. Several decades later, the number of Israeli emigrants had swelled http://fwd4.me/05tU to about 550,000 -- or almost double the proportion at the end of the 1950s.
Of the Israelis currently residing abroad http://fwd4.me/05tV roughly 60 percent are believed to have settled in North America, a quarter in Europe and 15 percent distributed across the rest of the world. It is estimated that about 45 percent http://fwd4.me/05tX of the adult Israeli expatriates have completed at least a university degree, in contrast to 22 percent http://fwd4.me/05tY of the Israeli population. The Israeli emigrants are deemed http://fwd4.me/05tb to be disproportionately secular, liberal and cosmopolitan. Furthermore, the emigrants are generally younger than the immigrants to Israel, especially those from the former Soviet Union, hastening the aging of Israel's population.
The often-cited reasons http://fwd4.me/05tc for Israeli emigration center on seeking better living and financial conditions, employment and professional opportunities, and higher education, as well as pessimism regarding prospects for peace. Consistent with these motives, one of the most frequently given explanations for leaving Israel is: http://fwd4.me/05td "The question is not why we left, but why it took us so long to do so." And recent opinion polls find that almost half of Israeli youth would prefer to live somewhere else if they had the chance. Again, the most often-cited reason to emigrate is because the situation in Israel is viewed as "not good".
Another important factor contributing to the outflow of Jewish Israelis is previous emigration experience. As 40 percent of Jewish Israelis are foreign-born, emigration is nothing new for many in the country. Moreover, as Israeli emigrants cannot yet vote from abroad, they are likely to feel marginalized from mainstream Israeli society, further contributing to their decision to remain abroad as well as attracting others to do the same. Whether the Netanyahu government's effort in the Knesset to approve a bill granting voting rights to Israelis living abroad will slow the trend is uncertain.
Adding to emigration pressures, many Israelis have already taken preliminary steps to eventually leaving. One survey http://fwd4.me/05te found close to 60 percent of Israelis had approached or were intending to approach a foreign embassy to ask for citizenship and a passport. An estimated 100,000 Israelis have German passports, while more are applying for passports based on their German ancestry. And a large number of Israelis have dual nationality, including an estimated http://fwd4.me/05tf 500,000 Israelis holding US passports (with close to a quarter million pending applications).
Population projections show that Jewish Israelis will remain the large majority in Israel for the foreseeable future. However, it will be a challenge for Jewish Israelis to maintain their current dominant majority of approximately 75 percent, primarily due to higher fertility among non-Jewish Israelis -- nearly one child per woman greater -- the depletion of the large pool of likely potential Jewish immigrants, and large-scale Jewish Israeli emigration. Consequently, demographic projections expect the Jewish proportion of the country -- which peaked at 89 percent in 1957 -- to continue declining over the coming decades, approaching a figure closer to two-thirds of the population by mid-century.
The emigration of a large proportion of a country's population, especially the well educated and highly skilled, poses serious challenges for any nation. However, large-scale emigration is particularly problematic for Israel given its relatively small population, unique ethnic composition, and regional political context.
Moreover, not only is Israeli emigration increasing the influence of the orthodox Jewish communities, it is also boosting the need for temporary, non-Jewish foreign workers, especially in agriculture, construction and care-giving. The presence of more than 200,000 foreign workers -- nearly half of whom are unauthorized and mainly from Asia (in particular Thailand and the Philippines, but also increasingly from Africa) -- is also contributing to the changing ethnic composition of the country. http://fwd4.me/05tg
The departure of Jewish Israelis also contributes to the undermining of the Zionist ideology. If large numbers of Jewish Israelis are opting to emigrate, why would Jews who are well integrated and accepted in other countries immigrate to Israel? Furthermore, up to a quarter of young Israelis in Europe marry outside their faith. The majority do not belong to a Jewish community and do not participate in any Jewish activities. As with other expatriate groups in Western nations, Israelis living abroad often profess their intention to return. However, Israeli emigrants are likely to remain in their adopted countries insofar as they and their families have become successfully settled and integrated.
Israeli governments have already consistently perceived immigration levels as too low and emigration http://fwd4.me/05th levels as too high. In addition to policies encouraging immigration for permanent settlement, Israel has programs and media campaigns actively promoting the return of Israelis residing overseas. The government also maintains connections with the country's expatriates through mandatory registration in its consulates overseas and outreach programs and activities -- and provides counseling, guidance, financial assistance, and tax benefits to returning citizens.
Despite these efforts, it is doubtful based on past and current trends that these various incentives and appeals will be sufficient to entice the return of the million missing Israelis. Large-scale emigration has not only resulted in critical demographic and socio-economic imbalances in the country, but more importantly poses grave political challenges and jeopardizes the basic Jewish character and integrity of Israel.
http://fwd4.me/05tL
Aharonovitch: Fly-in 'hooligans' will be deported
Internal security minister clarifies any illegal provocations by pro-Palestinian activists arriving in airport will lead to expulsion.
While the Gaza-bound flotilla has suffered some setbacks, Israeli security officials are still gearing up Tuesday for the expected pro-Palestinian fly-in.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch addressed the issue Tuesday, saying: "Any hooligans who might try to break the law - will not be permitted to enter Israel and will be sent back to their countries of origin.
"In the coming days we're expecting hundreds of radical activits to arrive from all over Europe with the intent of creating provocations and illegal protests aimed at hurting our legitimacy," Aharonovitch remarked. "I want to clarify that as a sovereign and democratic state Israel will not allow propaganda, incitement or illegal demonstrations – not at the airport and not anywhere else."
The minister sent a clear message to the activists – "You should know that your way will not succeed, so you would be better off avoiding coming to this country.
"The State of Israel would be happy to host you here as tourists, so you might enjoy its wonderful views and people."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4091351,00.html
100s plan Israel flights on way to Gaza
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists plan to fly to Israel before heading for Gaza after pressures by the Tel Aviv regime blocked other campaigners from reaching the impoverished enclave.
"We have responded to a call from Palestinian associations and about 500 hundred of us, women, men and children, will leave on July 8 to show them the world hasn't forgotten them," the organizers said, AFP reported on Monday.
The group will swarm the Ben Gurion International Airport southeast of Tel Aviv to protest the imposed siege against the Gaza Strip by the Israeli regime since 2007.
The blockade has deprived the entire 1.5 million Palestinian population of the territory of food, medicine, fuel and other necessities.
The campaigners include some 300 French nationals and others from Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered aviation authorities to block the move. Media reports say all European passengers will be taken to a separate terminal and subjected to tight screening.
The activists, however, said, " Israel has no right to refuse us entry to the occupied Palestinian territories."
The planned effort comes after Greek authorities stood in the way of their fellow humanitarian campaigners that intended to sail to Gaza, apparently buckling under political pressures by the Israeli regime and its key allies in the US and Europe.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187597.html
Israel prepares for pro-Palestinian airport protest
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel was making intense preparations on Monday to foil plans by hundreds of activists to flood Israel's Ben Gurion international airport on Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to coordinate all law enforcement and aviation authorities, said a statement from Netanyahu's office.
Israeli media reported that flights landing on Friday from Europe would be taken to a separate terminal and all passengers carefully screened.
"This planned provocation will be dealt with in accordance with Israeli law and international law and conventions," the statement from the premier's office said, without giving further details.
Pro-Palestinian activists have said they plan to arrive in their hundreds at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on July 8 to protest against Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
"We have responded to a call from Palestinian associations and about 500 hundred of us, women, men and children, will leave on July 8 to show them the world hasn't forgotten them," organizers said on the website www.bienvenuepalestine.com.
The group is said to include about 300 French citizens and others from Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United States.
"We are not going to hide the fact that we are coming to visit our Palestinian friends," the website remarks said.
"The Israel government has no right to refuse us entry to the occupied Palestinian territories."
The move comes as a flotilla of international activists that had planned to try and breach the blockade failed to get permission to set sail from Greece, apparently as a result of Israeli diplomatic pressure.
"Hundreds of internationals on their way to visit Palestinians in Gaza have been prevented from departing from the ports in Greece," Elsa Rassbach, one of the activists, wrote in a statement received by AFP on Sunday.
"However, we hope that hundreds of others of us from many countries will succeed in reaching Palestine by flying to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
"Supporting our visit to Palestine will be one small step towards bringing about the freedom of movement for all the peoples of Israel/Palestine that is essential for peace and justice in the Middle East," she said.
Israel on Sunday slammed the plan.
"This planned event is a continuation of the attempts to undermine Israel's right to exist and to attempt to breach its borders and sovereignty by sea, land and by air," the statement from Netanyahu's office said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=402478 6 jul 2011, 09:41 , Respect -
Maria 6 juli 2011
600 Peace Activists to fly to Israel, Incl Agents Provocateurs
(5:39) 600 Peace Activists to fly to Israel, Incl Agents Provocateurs
To: The Minister of Internal Security, Yitzhak Aharonowitz
Dear Sir,
According to reports in the media, the Prime Minister has entrusted you with handling what is known as the "Fly-In," i.e. hundreds of peace activists from abroad who are scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion Airport this Friday. You have been quoted as saying that you consider these people to be 'law-breaking hooligans,' without your having bothered to check or find out who they are and what are their intentions. It has also been published that you intend to treat them with brute force, and to this end to fill Ben-Gurion Airport with thousands of police officers. These violent plans may cause a serious and completely avoidable damage to the State of Israel.
I wish to clarify the facts. Several months ago, Palestinian civil society organizations sent an invitation to peace activists around the world to visit the West Bank over the week of July 8-16. In the framework of the visit, which is called Welcome to Palestine, the visitors from abroad are invited to stay in the homes of Palestinian families and to take part in various cultural activities such as planting olive trees in villages in the Ramallah area; visiting the Freedom Theater in Jenin whose director, Juliano Mer, was murdered several months ago; and visiting the community center in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. In no way or form is any violent or provocative action planned. Indeed, the Palestinians have encouraged their visitors to come as entire families with their children, and many of them intend to do so.
The first people to accept the Palestinian invitation were 350 peace activists from France, who have been joined over the last few months by activists from the USA, the UK, Germany, Italy and Belgium, totaling about 600 people -- many of them, as stated, entire families including their children.
If the Palestinians had an airport of their own, the activists would have preferred to land at such an airport. However, at present it is only possible to reach the Palestinian Territories by way of Israel, and the activists purchased, at their own expense, tickets for flights landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. They have no intention of creating chaos at the airport, and their only intention is to pass through passport control, like any other traveler, and be on their way.
In many cases over the past years, visitors who have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport and stated their intention to travel to the Palestinian Territories were not allowed to enter and were summarily deported. As the result, such travelers feel that they are forced to use lies and deceit and to conceal the true purpose of their visit from the Israeli authorities. The people who are coming to Israel this Friday do not intend to do that. Each and every one of them intends to act honestly and sincerely and to clearly state that the purpose of their visit is to stay with Palestinians. Moreover, the participants met early this week with representatives of the French Foreign Ministry, and asked them to relay the purpose of their visit to the Government of Israel -- evidently, that information has not reached you.
Whatever happens at Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday is entirely in your hands, Mr. Minister. If the peace activists are allowed to pass through passport control and depart for their destination, it will be just another routine day at the airport. If, on the other hand, you decide to act abusively and violently and to deport no less than 600 people at once, including families with children, there will be severe logistical problems and later, political, diplomatic and public relations problems which might continue to plague us for a long time to come. It is not yet too late to decide to act wisely.
Sincerely,
Adam Keller, Spokesperson
Gush Shalom
PO Box 3322, Tel-Aviv
Tel. 03-2340749, 03-5565804
Fax: 03-5271108
Email: [email protected]
Those wishing to contact directly the Fly-In activists can use the following contact details:
Olivia Zemor (France): 00-33-979335452, 00-33-680887154
[email protected] Skype: oliviazemor
Laura Durkay (USA): +1-9172541461 [email protected]
Michael Rabb (USA): +1-7208379674
FRANCE: Nicolas Shahshahani, [email protected]
GERMANY: Sophia Deeg, [email protected], +49(0)88 007761, +49(0)1799878414
UK: Sofiah MacLeod, [email protected],+
44(0)7931 200 36100, +44(0)131 620 0052
USA: Karin Pally, [email protected] or [email protected], +1 310-399-1921
In Jerusalem Sergio Yahni (+972(0)526375032) , [email protected],
If you want to subscribe, send mail to
[email protected]
and write the word subscribe in the subject line.
Palestinian organizations inviting the activists:
[email protected], +972(0)598939532
www.alrowwad-acts.ps
www.alternativenews.org
www.badil.org
www.bilin-village.org
Bil'in www.bilin-ffj.org
www.stopthewall.org
www.holylandtrust.org
Israel Reacts Hysterically to Welcome to Palestine Initiative
The Israeli government has responded with hysteria to the Welcome to Palestine Initiative, in which hundreds of international activists will openly declare their intention to visit Palestine when landing in Tel Aviv on 8 July. Sergio Yahni explores why.
One year after the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, during which the Israeli military killed nine Turkish solidarity activists, Palestinian, Israeli, American and German activists met in Berlin: the focus for this coming summer is not only the Israeli blockade against Gaza, they decided, but also the one around the West Bank. On 8 July hundreds of international activists from numerous countries will accordingly attempt to participate in the Welcome to Palestine Week to be held in various West Bank villages and cities.
Delegations from France, Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, USA, Japan and several African countries are expected to participate in a week of activities that will include trips to the Jordan Valley, the Negev Desert and Hebron. They will take part in cultural activities and in peaceful protests against the Israeli appropriation of Palestinian land with the assistance of the Apartheid Wall.
Since the eruption of the Second Intifada in September 2000, tens of thousands of international activists have come to the occupied Palestinian territory to learn about the Palestinian reality and to express their solidarity by participating in demonstrations and sharing the life and hardship of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
However, this year participants in the Welcome to Palestine initiative decided that when arriving to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, they won't hide their intentions. In the eyes of the Israeli immigration authorities, this decision has transformed them into a "security threat."
On Wednesday 6 July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an operational discussion in preparation for the expected landing of the solidarity activists in two days.
According to the Israeli press, Netanyahu, who arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on his way to Bulgaria and Romania, instructed various government agencies, including Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and other security officials to “act decisively against attempts to create a provocation at the airport." Netanyahu further instructed security forces to avoid unnecessary friction with the international activists.
The Israeli authorities perceive in the arrival of the international activists a potential danger to Israel's image, which may undermine the current efforts to “re-brand” Israel in international public opinion.
In international public opinion polls, Israel is one of the most abhorred countries in the world. In the 2009 EastWest’s global nation brands perception index, Israel was 192 out of 200, behind rogue states such as North Korea, Cuba and Yemen, and just before Sudan and Iran.
The efforts to re-brand Israel began in 2005 in the United States with the founding of "Israel21c", a small California-based group that has worked with public relations experts to place news stories about Israel that do not focus on the conflict with the Palestinians. These efforts aim to downplay religion and avoid any discussion of the occupation and the Israeli-Arab conflict.
A plan was adopted during a meeting on 2 October 2005 between the director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, and his counterparts in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry. Participants examined specialised research conducted by American marketing executives over the previous three years.The driving concept in the meeting was that Israel will win supporters only if it is seen as relevant and modern, rather than only as a place of fighting and religion.
However, Israel’s military offensives against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as well as the assassination of nine international solidarity activists in June 2010, undercut this strategy. After all, no public relations operation can cover up the Israeli war crimes and daily violence explicit and implicit in 44 years of occupation.
Israel managed to impose itself in the diplomatic arena in country to country relations, but it failed to gain the support of international public opinion. The presence of international activists, the Freedom Flotillas as well as the 8 July fly-in aims to highlight ongoing Israeli policies and force the international community to galvanize its positions toward implementation of Palestinian rights and to demand the community of nations to fulfill their responsibilities under international law.
The major ally of the international activists is the hysterical reaction of the Israeli government. There are already thousands of international activists in the occupied Palestinian territories, taking part in demonstrations and other solidarity activities on an ongoing basis. All of them entered the area by lying
about their intentions.
However, in response to the plan of international activists to be clear about the purpose of their visit, Israel will open a special operations room in Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday night.
Representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Aviation Authority, the Internal Security Ministry, police representatives, Prime Minister's Office officials and others will be present in the operations room, which will work nonstop until the last of the international activists has landed.
All incoming passengers will be checked in advance for their potential participation in the fly-in. Activists identified as such will be personally escorted out of the planes. Police plan to place officers on all aircrafts.
Additionally the Israeli authorities are considering the isolation of planes coming from Europe in a secluded area at the airport’s Terminal 1, where passengers will be extensively checked before they reach passport control.
This reaction may be seen irrational, and it is indeed irrational considering that at the end of the day, nothing new will happen on Friday. However, as that the current confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians is evolving into a confrontation between the Israeli military and the Palestinian popular resistance movement which has adopted non-violent strategies and tactics that also engage Israeli and international solidarity activists, the official Israeli hysteria is justified.
The British Empire failed to confront non-violent popular resistance in India, and it is not impossible that the Israeli occupation forces will go the same route.
http://fwd4.me/05tp
Fly-in Organizers:
“We strongly stress that we campaign for a just peace and for the freedom and security of both the Palestinian and the Israeli people”.
Bethlehem – PNN – As nearly 600 international activists from all walks of life gear up for Friday fly-in protest to Tel Aviv airport, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with Police Inspector General Yochanan Danino and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch toured the airport on Wednesday morning to discuss preparations to counter the protest.
On Wednesday organizers of the Campaign “Welcome to Palestine” which include 40 Palestinian and international organizations issued a press release saying that there aim is to show that Palestinians are still under Israel’s occupation.
“The aim is to show that, if our governments do not seem to be interested in the fate of these people who have been under occupation for far too long, there are men and women from all countries, who are ready to bring them moral support, using a week of their holidays to go and meet them,” said the press release.
Sami Awad, Director of Holy Land Trust, one of the local NGO’s organizing the campaign, told PNN that “Welcome To Palestine” is based on the faith in nonviolent resistance and it’s important for activists not to use violence against the Israelis when they arrive.
“There are several measures they (activists) will take in the event of harassment by the occupation forces, such as solidarity sit-ins, not adhering to orders and refuse to travel, without any use of violence,“ explained Awad.
So far, according to organizers the fly-in includes 350 French citizens in addition to Belgian, British, German, Italian and American participants. The itinerary, if activists go through Tal Aviv airport, will include particular exchanges with the Al-Rowwad Centre of the Aïda refugee camp (Bethlehem), help with olive tree planting around Ramallah, also a solidarity visit to the organizers of the Jenin Freedom Theatre whose manager, Juliano Meir Khamis, was brutally assassinated recently.
Israeli Army Radio reported that keeping the airport functioning as usual will be the most important goal for security officials as activists arrive, most of whom will likely be difficult to identify. During a meeting with several heads of Israeli security services at the airport Netanyahu said, "Every country has the right to prevent the entry of provocateurs into its borders."
“We strongly stress that we campaign for a just peace and for the freedom and security of both the Palestinian and the Israeli people. Such a peace necessarily means the end of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the respect of international law. There are many Israelis who share this point of view,” the organizers stated on Wednesday.
The plan, say the organizers, is for activists to arrive in Tel Aviv and state clearly they are coming to Palestine and then join the activities.
“All the participants decided of one accord that, having nothing to hide, and coming with totally peaceful intentions, they would inform the Israeli authorities of our wish to go to the West Bank immediately after our arrival at Tel Aviv airport.”
In past years Israel used to deport, deny enter, or restrict visa time to internationals that work, live, or visit the Palestinian territories in an attempt to illegalize the visit of those areas or the interaction with Palestinians. The Israeli army controls are borders crossing into the West Bank and the only way to fly in is via the Tal Aviv international airport since the Israeli army destroyed the only Palestinian airport located in the Gaza Strip back 2002.
http://fwd4.me/05tl
Israel deports five ahead of anticipated influx of pro-Palestinian activists
600-1,200 activists were expected to attempt entry to Israel as counterpart to the Gaza flotilla.
Israeli police have deported five pro-Palestinian activists in the past two days. The activists were sent back to their home countries, France and Begium.
Dozens of Israeli security forces deployed at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday afternoon, following reports that hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists planned to fly into the country as a counterpart to the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Between 600 and 1,200 activists are expected to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on Thursday night and Friday, on flights from Moscow and New York.
Israel Police and Border Police officers are currently spread out across the arrivals hall. Hundreds more security officers plan to be stationed throughout the airport over the coming days in anticipation of the activists' arrival.
It is expected that the activists will set up camp across the airport as part of their protest.
Yet the organizers of the flights denied their intention. One of them, Lubna Masarawa, told Haaretz in a phone call from London that the reports are overblown and do not reflect the activists' plans. "The main mistake is the attempt to tie the flights to the flotilla," she said. "There is no connection between the two."
The organizers say the idea is to send hundreds of civil society activists to visit the Palestinian Authority. The planning began about a year ago. "The activists will arrive as tourists and ask to pass through border control like any other tourists," Masarawa said. "There is no plan to confront anyone, but a true will to visit Palestinian cities and then the Negev."
Elsa Rassbach, another organizer, told Haaretz that "to classify us as hooligans is ridiculous. We are talking about a group of civil society activists whose average age is between 50 and 60."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Wednesday that security forces must act firmly against the planned protests.
"Every country has the right to prevent the entry of provocateurs into its borders," Netanyahu said during a meeting with several heads of Israeli security services at the Ben-Gurion airport.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel will act as every civilized country would in the face of provocateurs, but ordered security forces to "avoid unnecessary altercations."
Following the discussion, Netanyahu ordered Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to exert all efforts to prevent an infiltration into Israel's borders.
Haaretz reported Tuesday that Israel has provided intelligence to the United States, seven European countries, and several foreign airline companies regarding the activists who plan on participating in the airport protest.
http://fwd4.me/05sf
Mazin Qumsiyeh Welcome to Palestine on July 8th Press Conference in Berlin
(19:39) Mazin Qumsiyeh Welcome to Palestine on July 8th Press Conference in Berlin [publicsolidarity]
Palestinian civil society organizations and peace and human rights defenders and activists have called on civil society organizations and people of conscience around the world to come to Palestine July 8 for a week of fellowship and peace-building. (See the Right to Enter Campaign at http://www.righttoenter.ps )
Local activist groups in the United States, Europe, North America, Latin America, and other parts of the world have organized delegations and hundreds of citizens will be arriving at Tel Aviv airport on Friday July 8th.
Israel's arbitrary and abusive control over entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories is unlawful and must be vigorously opposed. Israel must recognize the basic human right of entering to Palestine by those who want to visit the Palestinian people.
For more informations go to:
www.publicsolidarity.de
http://www.righttoenter.ps
http://www.palestinejn.org
http://bienvenuepalestine.com
http://www.kopi-online.de/joomla/index.php?Itemid=87
#Airflotilla | Fly-in Organizers
“We strongly stress that we campaign for a just peace and for the freedom and security of both the Palestinian and the Israeli people”.
Bethlehem – PNN – As nearly 600 international activists from all walks of life gear up for Friday fly-in protest to Tel Aviv airport, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with Police Inspector General Yochanan Danino and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch toured the airport on Wednesday morning to discuss preparations to counter the protest.
On Wednesday organizers of the Campaign “Welcome to Palestine” which include 40 Palestinian and international organizations issued a press release saying that there aim is to show that Palestinians are still under Israel’s occupation.
“The aim is to show that, if our governments do not seem to be interested in the fate of these people who have been under occupation for far too long, there are men and women from all countries, who are ready to bring them moral support, using a week of their holidays to go and meet them,” said the press release.
Sami Awad, Director of Holy Land Trust, one of the local NGO’s organizing the campaign, told PNN that “Welcome To Palestine” is based on the faith in nonviolent resistance and it’s important for activists not to use violence against the Israelis when they arrive.
“There are several measures they (activists) will take in the event of harassment by the occupation forces, such as solidarity sit-ins, not adhering to orders and refuse to travel, without any use of violence,“ explained Awad.
So far, according to organizers the fly-in includes 350 French citizens in addition to Belgian, British, German, Italian and American participants. The itinerary, if activists go through Tal Aviv airport, will include particular exchanges with the Al-Rowwad Centre of the Aïda refugee camp (Bethlehem), help with olive tree planting around Ramallah, also a solidarity visit to the organizers of the Jenin Freedom Theatre whose manager, Juliano Meir Khamis, was brutally assassinated recently.
Israeli Army Radio reported that keeping the airport functioning as usual will be the most important goal for security officials as activists arrive, most of whom will likely be difficult to identify. During a meeting with several heads of Israeli security services at the airport Netanyahu said, “Every country has the right to prevent the entry of provocateurs into its borders.”
“We strongly stress that we campaign for a just peace and for the freedom and security of both the Palestinian and the Israeli people. Such a peace necessarily means the end of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the respect of international law. There are many Israelis who share this point of view,” the organizers stated on Wednesday.
The plan, say the organizers, is for activists to arrive in Tel Aviv and state clearly they are coming to Palestine and then join the activities.
“All the participants decided of one accord that, having nothing to hide, and coming with totally peaceful intentions, they would inform the Israeli authorities of our wish to go to the West Bank immediately after our arrival at Tel Aviv airport.”
In past years Israel used to deport, deny enter, or restrict visa time to internationals that work, live, or visit the Palestinian territories in an attempt to illegalize the visit of those areas or the interaction with Palestinians. The Israeli army controls are borders crossing into the West Bank and the only way to fly in is via the Tal Aviv international airport since the Israeli army destroyed the only Palestinian airport located in the Gaza Strip back 2002.
http://fwd4.me/05sG
Two Dutch journalists were not allowed to baord a flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv late yesterday.
Security Correspondent Bud Wichers and Photographer Ettora Hesseling, who are both working for an International news agency, recently covered the preperation of the Dutch Flotilla activists from Greece.
They intended to sail with flotilla, but backed out after a disagreement between the Dutch organizers and Dutch journalists.
They were told by a staff member of El Al Airlines, an Israeli company, that that they would pose a serious flight risk, and for that reason could not board the plane.
"We wanted to tell both sides of the Flotilla story and scheduled interviews with Israelis who oppose the action of the activists," said Wichers.
"Later on we wanted to go to Gaza to see how Israel is bringing aid to the people there. Israel denied us the opportunity to tell their side of the story. Instead we are labeled terrorists now, even though Netanyahu's office specifically said they would not target journalists who covered the Freedom Flotilla 2."
Wichers has worked numerous times in the Israel and the Palestinian areas and covered the Middle East for over 10 years.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/israel-jul-6-2011-1404
Netanyahu: Israel must be resolute in face of pro-Palestinian provocateurs at airport
Prime minister orders security forces to prevent infiltration into Israel's borders, as hundreds of activists plan to enter Israel by air as counterpart to Gaza flotilla.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israeli security forces must act firmly against an expected pro-Palestinian protest at the Ben-Gurion International Airport over the weekend.
"Every country has the right to prevent the entry of provocateurs into its borders," Netanyahu said during a meeting with several heads of Israeli security services at the Ben-Gurion airport, in preparation for the arrival of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who plan on entering Israel by air as a counterpart to the planned flotilla to the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel will act as every civilized country would in the face of provocateurs, but ordered security forces to "avoid unnecessary altercations."
Following the discussion, Netanyahu ordered Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to exert all efforts to prevent an infiltration into Israel's borders.
Haaretz reported Tuesday that Israel has provided intelligence to the United States seven European countries, and several foreign airline companies regarding the activists who plan on participating in the airport protest.
Between 600 and 1,200 activists are expected to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday. Israel is expecting the main protest to take place Friday morning, and the first activists are likely to arrive Thursday night.
http://fwd4.me/05qS
Israel to secure airport ahead of Gaza protest
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says extra police troops will be deployed at the country's international airport ahead of arrival later this week of pro-Palestinian activists protesting the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld http://fwd4.me/05qP says the beefed-up contingent of hundreds of officers will be ready to act in case of disruptions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials at the Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday to review the procedures.
Netanyahu says "every country has a right to block the entry of provocateurs."
Hundreds of activists from around the world are expected to fly in Friday after efforts to send a flotilla of ships to bust the blockade have stalled.
Activists say they plan no disruptions.
http://fwd4.me/05qO
Israel gears for pro-Palestinian fly-in
(2:29) Gazans show solidarity with Freedom Flotilla II - Stay Human -
Government determined to prevent provocations at Ben Gurion Airport as some 500 activists expected to land in Israel in coming days. Passengers identified as planning riots to be sent back. Activist: 'We're just tourists'.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists from around the world, though mainly from Europe, are expected to arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday. They say their aim is to visit Bethlehem and allow visitors into Palestinian villages where entry is restricted.
A special status evaluation held Tuesday surveyed the various steps government agencies will take to prevent provocations at the airport.
Jerusalem is treating the fly-in with a great deal of caution. "Everyone here is in hysterics," sources in Jerusalem said when commenting on the preparation in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was briefed on preparations by the internal security minister and police commissioner Wednesday. Netanyahu will hold a visit in Romania and Bulgaria this week which aims to enlist their support against the Palestinian recognition bid.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that some 40 organizations have confirmed their participation in the Welcome to Palestine campaign to be carried out between July 8 and July 16.
Activists landing at the Ben Gurion Airport will tour Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and the Jordan Valley.
As part of efforts to prevent damages to Israel's reputation in light of Friday's planned flight, a special operations room where the events will be mentored by the relevant officials will be established at Ben Gurion airport Thursday night.
Representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Aviation Authority, the Internal Security Ministry, police representatives, Prime Minister's Office officials and others will be present in the operations room which will work nonstop until the last of the flight participants is in Israel.
"We expect that some 500 pro-Palestinian activists will attempt to land in Israel from Europe in the coming days, with a large mass expected on Friday," an element at the Public Security Ministry said. "They will try to create provocations. We are not familiar with them all but will urge the airlines to prevent those we do know from boarding the planes."
He said that activists identified at the airport as seeking provocation will not be allowed in Israel and will be sent back to their countries. Those who will riot at the airport or refuse to head back will be transferred to a special airport facility or turned over to the Prison Service.
All passengers will be checked in advance for potential to cause provocations. Activists identified as such will be personally escorted out of the planes. Police plan to place officers on all aircraft.
"One mustn't forget that these activists are not armed," a police source said. "The officers were instructed to prevent all provocations and will clear the rioters in an orderly fashion."
Moreover, the Director General of the Foreign Ministry Rafi Barak sent missives to a number of Israeli deputations in Europe and the US with citizens who are planning to take part in the flight.
In the missives Barak asked that the representatives alert the local foreign ministries of the planned events and the legal implications should the flight participants be arrested.
Meanwhile, airlines are preparing for the possibility that dozens or perhaps hundreds of European passengers will be detained at the airport before deportation. "It's possible that the foreign airlines will ban the passengers from flying back with them because of their violent potential," one source at the aviation industry said.
Activist: We're just tourists
Tom Innes, the spokesman of the flight from Britain, told Ynet that the organizers of the fly-in are expecting a total of between 500 and 700 participants.
He added that people would be flying in from different cities throughout Europe on Friday and said he would be arriving on a flight at around 2-3 pm and didn't see any reason why he couldn't visit Bethlehem.
Innes said he felt it was important to stress that the groups were not visiting Israel, but the current situation is forcing them to go through Israeli crossings to reach Bethlehem. He added that he hoped the Israeli government would allow it.
Innes rejected claims that the flight participants were interested in reaching Gaza, saying they were "invited by Palestinian friends to stay in Bethlehem."
He further denied any intent to cause a violent disruption at the airport, saying those arriving in the fly-in were "just tourists."
According to Innes the proximity of the flight to the flotilla to Gaza was completely coincidental.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4091564,00.html 7 jul 2011, 20:07 , Respect -
Maria 7 juli 2011
Israel bars 300 activists from flying to Israel
Dutch tourists: Airport looks normal
Ahead of fly-in, state issues blacklist of pro-Palestinian activists blocked from boarding Israel-bound flights. Organizer says airlines complying, cites emails sent to passengers canceling trips 'as per Israel's instructions'.
Israeli security has distributed a blacklist among foreign airlines, featuring names of 300 activists who will not be allowed on Israel-bound flights. The measure comes in preparation for the pro-Palestinian fly-in, which is scheduled to take place over the upcoming weekend.
Israel told the airlines that the blacklisted individuals, most of whom come from France, are unauthorized to enter the state. The air carriers, in turn, promised to prohibit these individuals from boarding flights.
Police say around 500 activists were due to participate in the fly-in, of them 342 have already been recognized. Some were turned away by airlines, and those remaining will be detained upon arrival if they succeed in boarding flights, police say.
The first flight carrying activists is scheduled to arrive at 11:30 pm Thursday, but flights arriving from Germany early Friday are expected to be carrying many more.
According to organizers of the fly-in, at least eight activists wishing to board a Malev Airlines flight from Paris to Budapest, and then Tel Aviv, were turned away.
One organizer, Nicholas Shashani, told Ynet that an airline official told them that she was following the Israeli Interior Ministry's orders, and showed them the list of barred individuals. Shashani claimed that they filed a complaint with police at the airport.
Shashani added that two travelers who wished to board a flight from Switzerland received e-mail messages notifying them that their trips were canceled, "as per Israel's Interior Ministry instructions."
These incidents will not deter hundreds of activists from flying from various European airports to Tel Aviv, Shashani said.
France also warned its nationals on Thursday against taking part in the fly-in.
"France is concerned about the risks that may occur at the airport in Tel Aviv on Friday, July 8, as part of the operation 'Welcome to Palestine,'" a statement issued by French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero read.
According to the statement, the French embassy in Israel is mobilizing to assist its nationals – who might be subject to arrest. It was also noted that despite requests by the French Foreign Ministry, the organizers of the protest did not provide it with a list of individuals who intend to participate in the fly-in, or the flights they plan to take.
Business as usual at BGA?
Meanwhile, preparation for the pro-Palestinian protest continued at Ben Gurion Airport. Visitors reported an unusual number of police officers patrolling the grounds. But some arriving passengers claimed that they did not observe any tension.
"I am here for the first time, and it doesn't feel tense at all. For me, it looks completely normal," one Dutch tourist, Mary, said. "I heard on the news about the activists' arrival, but I don't think it's as bad as the Israeli government and media presented it in the beginning.
"Our only concern is that it will delay our friend's arrival from Paris, due to the heightened security, but that might not even happen," she said.
Guy Mansharov was at the airport on his way to visit Georgia with his family. "We were a little worried that there will be a commotion or a delay, but then we heard that it won't happen today," he said. "So far, Ben Gurion Airport is functioning well. We don't feel any change. We hope that the idea of the fly-in will crash, just like the last flotilla sunk."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092539,00.html
Flotilla backed by Flytilla? Gaza activists to advance by sea & air
(3:23) Flotilla backed by Flytilla? Gaza activists to advance by sea & air
A French ship, bound for Gaza with aid, has been stopped in Crete. It comes as the UN is due to report on last year's Israeli raid on a humanitarian flotilla which killed 9 Turkish activists. The report has been held back because of the row between Israel and Turkey which followed the attack. RT's Paula Slier joins us live with the details.
Welcome to Palestine Organisers Deny Israeli Allegations that they are a Fly Flotilla to Gaza
Bethlehem – PNN – Organisers of the Welcome to Palestine campaign issued a press release denying Israeli allegations that they intend on going to Gaza and cause disruptions at Ben Gurion airport.
‘As stated in our first press release we invite international guests including families to visit us in Palestine. We hope and expect the Israeli authorities to allow them safe passage in compliance with international law and normal diplomatic relations. We also reject the Israeli government threat of mass deportation of peace activists and the attempt to justify this unjustifiable action with rumours that have been spread’, organisers stated in the press release.
The Welcome to Palestine campaign announced earlier in the week that 600 people will take part including citizens from Britain, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany and America. The campaign will include visits to Palestinian areas in the West Bank and volunteering with local NGOs, including projects in education and health.
Welcome to Palestine organisers said that their message is one of justice and peace and they denounce violence or intimidation stating that ‘our visitors are coming to Palestine with a nonviolent approach to peace building and conflict resolution, with full respect of universal declarations of human rights. We urge Israeli authorities to allow journalists to have access to our participants, and show the true story of Welcome to Palestine.’
Since as early as last weekend, the Israeli government and media have led a campaign against Welcome to Palestine, labelling it a Fly Flotilla to Gaza and the participants as trouble makers. Today the Israeli Foreign Ministry launched a campaign against Welcome to Palestine calling it the Welcome Mat offensive. According to the Israeli Tourism Ministry, efforts are being made to avoid the disruption of ‘normal’ tourists to the country. Meanwhile the Israeli security forces have been heavily deployed in the airport in a military offense style as described by Israeli media.
Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, said that the country has the right to refuse entry to provocateurs into its borders.
In recent years, Israel has tried to make entry and visiting to the Palestinian territories increasingly hard by using deportation, denial of entry and visa restriction polices to foreign spouses of Palestinians, NGO workers and visitors who say they are coming to visit the Palestinian territories. According to many internationals Israeli security forces at the border crossings and the airport, give out flyers to people telling them that it is illegal or dangerous for them to go to the Palestinian controlled areas.
People travelling to the Palestinian territories have no choice but to cross borders controlled by the Israeli military or fly into the International Israeli airport at Tel Aviv as Israel destroyed the only Palestinian airport located in the Gaza Strip back in 2002.
http://fwd4.me/061M
Israel Instructs Air Lines To Cancel Reservation Of Passengers Said To Be Related To “welcome To Pal"
Israeli ministry of Interior has sent out directives to all air lines asking them to cancel reservation of passengers Israel believes they are part of the “Welcome to Palestine Campaign”. The Israeli Authorities sent out a list of names to the airlines saying that their entry to Israel will be refused.
So far, Swiss Air Lines and Lufthansa and some other air lines have declared they would comply with these directives.
“Failure to comply with this directive will result in delay on the flight and their return on the same flight,” the letter said.
The letter asked the air lines not to board the listed passengers on the flights to Israel.
The list of names remains unknown, however, it is expected that this list will grow. In Europe, German federal police said as long as passengers had valid tickets and passports, they had no grounds to stop any activists at airports there, the AP reported.
The campaign organisers issued a press statement condemning the Israeli measure and demanded that passengers coming to visit Palestine to be treated like Israeli passengers treated in other countries airports.
The campaign organisers expect over 600 internationals to come to Tel Aviv airport on Friday, to join the nonviolent manifestations of rejection to the wall Israel is building in the West Bank on July 9 and other activities during the week.
On this day in 2004, the International Court of Justice at The Hague issued its advisory opinion ruling the wall illegal and demanded its removal. Israel has failed to comply, as the ruling is not binding.
On the same day in 2005, Palestinian civil society organizations made out their call to the International Community to boycott Israel, divest from it and impose sanctions until Israel adheres to the International Law. This call has become an International movement known as the BDS movement.
http://fwd4.me/061F
“Air Flotilla” successful in exposing Israeli blockade of West Bank
Israeli authorities deployed hundreds of police officers to arrest and deport pro-Palestinian visitors. The Minister of Tourism announced that “good tourists” will be greeted with flowers
Panic. There is no other way to describe the Israeli reaction to a plan organized by a few activists—no more than a thousand, according to the most generous estimates—to try and travel to the West Bank via Ben Gurion International Airport. http://fwd4.me/05zq A handful of those visitors arrived (five of them have already been deported), and it seems that the whole country has gone mad. http://fwd4.me/05zt
Haaretz has reported http://fwd4.me/05zu (hebr) a special deployment of hundreds of police officers and special units both inside and outside the terminals, “in case one of the arrivals tries to set himself on fire.” The Petach Tikva court, in charge of the airport area, is to have more arrest judges on alert, and the minister for Hasbara (propaganda) Yuli Edelstein demanded http://fwd4.me/05zw that the government take no chances, “because we should remember what happened on 9/11.”
All this, lets not forget, in order to welcome between a few dozen to a few hundred Westerners (most of them quite old, according to reports), who would arrive on separate flights and on different hours, who went through extensive security checks before boarding their planes, and who openly declared their intentions to visit the Palestinian territories. This is the national threat that has captured all the headlines for some days now in a country armed with one of the strongest armies in the world as well as an extensive arsenal of nuclear bombs.
While events at the airport are more absurd than tragic (there is a torrent of jokes on twitter about this, like: “attention all units, attention all units, a Swedish woman is now getting off flight 465´´, or “security personnel have been ordered to report all those not singing ‘Heve’nu Shalom’ at landing”), one cannot watch the government’s handling of this situation and not question the judgment of Israeli decision makers, or wonder about the things they are capable of doing if and when they sense a more substantial threat. One of the sole voices of reason was Yedioth’s Eitan Haber, former secretary of Prime Minister Rabin, whose commentary today had the title: “We simply lost it” .
The lunacy started at the top. Earlier this week, Netanyahu’s office has released a statement saying that the “welcome to Palestine” campaign “is part of a continuing effort to undermine Israel’s right to exist. http://fwd4.me/05zx ” This call for action was supposed to have expired long ago from over use (I wonder what doesn’t constitute, in Netanyahu’s eyes “an effort to undermine Israel’s right to exist?”), but it did spark the desired result in the government. Internal Security Minister Itzhak Aharonowitz (Israel Beitenu) has put his forces on high alert, promising “not to let the hooligans enter Israel, http://fwd4.me/05zy ” and senior police officers promised “harsh treatment” http://fwd4.me/05zz for those who will manage to board their flights to Tel Aviv.
The real nugget was revealed today, when Tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov sent his people to the airport to hand flowers to those arrivals that are not planning to travel to the West Bank. “Handcuffs to the activists, flowers to the tourists,” one of the headlines read. http://fwd4.me/0600 The tourism office, it was reported, fears that arrivals to Israel will “meet unpleasant sights of riots and arrests.”
“My office will welcome ["normal"] tourists in a respectful way that will convey the message that Israel is asafe, advanced and attractive place to visit,” Minister Mazesnikow told the press. http://fwd4.me/0602 His statement would have seemed to invoke the practices of the Soviet regime, if I weren’t sure that Mazesnikow, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, knew better.
There is a deeper point to make here: By dividing the tourists to “evil” ones and to “good” and “honest” ones, according to their political motivation and their views on the Palestinian issue, Israel is confirming the logic of the BDS movement – that any business or contact with Israel is political, and probably serves Israeli policy. Much in the way the Israeli Foreign Ministry promotes on its Facebook wall http://fwd4.me/0603 articles on artists who plan to visit Israel next to pieces denouncing the Palestinians, the tourism office now views every visit to the county, whether for business, religious or personal reasons, as a sign of support in the face of “an effort to undermine our existence.”
In recent days, government officials have made a single talking point regarding the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign: that every country has the right do defend its sovereignty. If the United States, France and Japan can reject people from entering their territory without bothering to cite their reasons, why can’t Israel? Yet these are the same people who on any other week of the year deny even the term “occupation”, claiming that since the Oslo agreement, “Palestinians control their own lives.” PR people and supporters of the Israeli government repeat this idea all the time, and while everyone familiar with the reality in the West Bank knows that the Palestinian Authority has more or less the authority of a local US municipality, it is always surprising how widespread is the notion that Israel has effectively removed its control from the territories.
Here, for example, is a quote the glossary section in the internet site of the Propaganda organization “Stand with US” http://fwd4.me/0604
[i] Israel never formally annexed the West Bank or Gaza, and the Palestinians are not Israeli citizens and wish to have their own state. Today, Palestinians have their own government, the Palestinian Authority.[/i]
This is Morton Klein, head of Zionist of America, in often-cited 2002 article titled “There is no Occupation“: http://fwd4.me/0605
Following the signing of the Oslo accords, the Israelis withdrew from nearly half of the territories, including the cities where 98.5% of Palestinian Arabs reside. The notion that the Palestinian Arabs are living under “Israeli occupation” is simply false. The areas from which Israel has not withdrawn are virtually uninhabited, except for the 2% where Israelis reside.
And this is another mouthpiece for the occupation, Washington Post’s blogger Jennifer Rubin: http://fwd4.me/0607
Now ninety-five percent of Palestinians are under the jurisdiction of the PA, which is responsible for everything from local police to schools. Israel’s official interaction with West Bank Palestinians is limited to intelligence gathering and extraction of terrorists.
Prof. Noam Chomsky
The Welcome to Palestine campaign was meant to prove that not only did Israel never remove its control from the Palestinians, but also that the West Bank is effectively under an Israeli blockade. Every person and all good entering the Palestinian Authority must be cleared first by Israel. Some might argue that this is a legitimate security precaution, but the history of this policy proves that security concerns are not the factor determining whether people receive permission to enter or leave the West Bank; rather, the determining factor is the political need to maintain the occupation. Two high profile recent cases were that of Prof. Noam Chomsky http://fwd4.me/0608 and a Spanish Clown http://fwd4.me/0609 , both of whom were denied entry for their support of Palestinian independence, but these kind of things happen on a daily basis.
Considering all this, it’s clear that even before a dozen activists landed here, the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign won the day. Israel has played its part perfectly, spreading threats and promising to immediately deport anyone who stated his intention to visit the West Bank or cited a political motivation for his travel. Israel has even prevented a couple of Dutch pro-Palestinian journalists http://fwd4.me/060A from boarding an El-Al flight, perhaps fearing that they might report something Jerusalem won’t like.
When the first news items on the “air flotilla” appeared in the Hebrew media, some of Israelis wondered in comments why the activists didn’t enter the West Bank through the crossing point at the Jordanian border, believing it to be controlled by the Palestinians themselves. The myth of the Oslo withdrawal was so successful, that even some Israelis took it as a fact.
After a week of headlines on the activists’ invasion, everybody knows that even more than Gaza—which can be entered through Rafah, where there is no Israeli presence—the West Bank is under an Israeli blockade.
http://fwd4.me/05zp
3 'air flotilla' activists to be deported; 5 at large
Three activists involved in the "aerial flotilla" to Ben-Gurion Airport have been arrested upon entry to Israel and are in the process of being deported. The activists were from France and Belgium.
Around five activists are believed to have managed to get past security and are in the country. The five are believed to have entered in recent days.
Police were deployed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday in expectation of arrival of further pro-Palestinian activists.
http://fwd4.me/05zt
Tourism Ministry launches 'welcome mat offensive'
While police gear to handle hundreds 'Gaza fly-in' activists with determination, Tourism Ministry aims to make sure incoming tourists receive proper welcome.
Following the near military operation-style preparations for the foreign activists "Gaza fly-in" to Ben Gurion International Airport, the Tourism Ministry announced Thursday that it was "preparing to welcome the thousands of tourists expected to arrive in Israel this weekend."
The ministry also said that the Ben Gurion Airport branch of the Tourism Ministry would be reinforced by additional employees who will welcome the tourists with flowers and explanatory pamphlets.
Discussing the measures, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said: "Ben Gurion Airport must maintain its daily routine and send a message to both tourists and the global media that Israel is a safe and advanced country and an attractive tourism destination.
"The confrontation with pro-Palestinian activists which will no doubt be accomplished in a professional manner by the security forces does not need to break the routine at Ben Gurion Airport."
According to the minister, Ben Gurion Airport is Israel's main gateway and so "the welcome tourists receive when arriving in Israel significantly shapes their experiences and feelings during the visit."
Over 1.5 million tourists visited Israel since the beginning of 2011, a similar number to the same period last year which was a record-breaking year for Israeli tourism. The minister means to visit the international airport tomorrow to oversee the tourists' welcome.
Meanwhile the police are continuing to prepare for "operation secured space" to handle the 500 activists from 15 left wing organizations who are expected to arrive with "determination" while emphasizing the fact that these are protestors who are trying to carry out a media provocation and not terrorists.
Analysis of recent intelligence information has led police to estimate that the activists intend to reach various friction hubs throughout the country including al-Arakib in the Negev, Lod and east Jerusalem. Police are also preparing for riots that could break out at Ben Gurion Airport the moment one of the activists is detained.
Around 600 police officers are set to take part in the operation with dozens already stationed at Ben Gurion Airport.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092282,00.html
Israel braces for Gaza protest 'flytilla'
Welcome to Palestine activists expected to land in Tel Aviv and demonstrate over blocking of aid flotilla.
Israel today was bracing itself for an anticipated attempt by hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to attempt to fly into the country, as the latest flotilla of ships intended for Gaza appeared to have been largely stalled.
Israeli media reported that hundreds of extra police would be deployed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to try and halt the influx of protesters who are part of the Welcome to Palestine campaign.
Most are expected to arrive on an estimated 50 scheduled flights from across Europe beginning at 1am on Friday. The campaign has denied that those participating intend to attempt to reach or Gaza or provoke deliberate disruptions at Ben Guirion airport.
"As stated ... we invite international guests including families to visit us in Palestine," Welcome to Palestine said in a statement on Thursday. "We hope and expect the Israeli authorities to allow them safe passage in compliance with international law and normal diplomatic relations.
"We also reject the Israeli government threat of mass deportation of peace activists and the attempt to justify this unjustifiable action with rumours that have been spread."
The threat of the "flytilla" has seen Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu take a personal interest, visiting airport officials ahead of a trip to Romania, where he insisted that "every country has the right to prevent entry of disrupters and provocateurs at its borders".
Israel's public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, had already denounced those planning to participate as "hooligans and radicals".
"The same hooligans who tried to break the law and disrupt the peace will not be allowed into Israel and will return to their home countries," he said earlier this week.
"I want to make it clear that as a sovereign, democratic country, we will not allow public propaganda, incitement and illegal demonstrations to occur, not at the airport and not in any other place."
In expectation of what has been called the "fly in" — or the "flytilla" — Israel's transport authorities have demanded foreign airlines to present lists of passengers two days in advance of departure for scrutiny.
Israel expects at least 600 activists to attempt to enter, half of them from France, who have said they intend to spend a week visiting Palestinian families.
Michael Rabb, a US pro-Palestinian activist, told Israel Army Radio he expected at least 500 activists to arrive at Ben Gurion airport staring at 1am on Friday who will "announce openly and honestly that we're flying in to Palestine to visit our friends".
Announced earlier this week by Welcome to Palestine, the campaign said that those taking part would include citizens of Britain, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany and the US.
The "fly in" is the latest chapter in the continuing game of cat and mouse between Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters who have increasingly used tactics designed to challenge Israel and invite a response which would embarrass it in front of the world.
Ben Gurion airport has long had a reputation for its stringent screening of arriving foreign passengers, and cross-examination of departing non-Israeli nationals including questions about where they have travelled and whether they have met Palestinians.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, in this case Israeli officials have warned that if a plane takes off with a suspect on board, that person will be detained at Ben Gurion and be put back on a plane to his home country before he reaches passport control.
Israeli authorities are also making arrangements for planes suspected of carrying larger numbers of activists to be diverted to an outer runway at the airport so passengers can be questioned.
According to the paper, police being deployed for the operation were told during a briefing that "when you enter the airport, it will be as if you are entering the set of Big Brother — and warned they should not be be goaded into using force and then filmed by activists.
The concern has been prompted by the international outrage that followed the release of footage of the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza aid flotilla ship, the MV Marmara, a raid that resulted in the deaths of nine activists on board
http://fwd4.me/05zR
Gaza fly-in organizers thank Bibi for PR
Left wing activists set to take part in 'Gaza fly-in' grateful to Israeli prime minister for free media buzz.
Left wing activists and the organizers of the planned pro-Palestinian fly-in to Ben Gurion Airport thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch for the extensive publicity their endeavor has been garnering in the global media.
"We should be thanking Netanyahu because without him this wouldn’t have worked," one of the fly-in organizers said Thursday. "If we would have paid thousands of shekels in PR it would not have worked our so well," he added.
The activist went on to say: "Many people abroad who I'm in contact with are very excited by Israel's overreaction. They feel they are taking a risk in taking part in the fly-in.
"They knew that when they come to Israel and explain that they meant to visit the Palestinian Authority to express solidarity with the Palestinian people they would be arrested and deported. They were worried it would all have happened on the down low with complete media silence."
Speaking to Ynet an Internal Security Ministry official made it clear that "We aren't getting excited but we are preparing for every eventuality. There are police estimations as per usual in similar events. According to intelligence estimations nothing out of the ordinary is expected. These aren't terrorists they are pro-Palestinian left wing activists."
According to the official: "As long as things are done within the framework of the law and the rules of democracy, we will allow it but we will not allow riots and disturbances. You need to remember that due to the summer season there are tens of thousands of people in the airport and we must insure that traffic isn't disturbed."
Responding to criticism of the ministry and the police department, another official said: If we weren't prepared and the worst would happen we would be heavily criticized and rightfully so."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092447,00.html