Israel Readies to Disrupt Fly-in Protest by Pro- Palestinian Activists

The Israeli policemen are getting ready to deport the pro-Palestine activists who are set to storm the Ben Gurion airport as part of the fly- in protest on Sunday.

The protest is planned to draw attention to the Israel sponsored travel restrictions on the Palestinians.

The activists are set to arrive from different parts of the world during the weekend, mainly from Europe and the United States to stage a peaceful protest.

Around 1,500 protestors are planning to storm the Israeli airport in the campaign titled "Welcome to Palestine 2012" starting from Sunday.

The Israeli government has promised to take tough action against the activists landing at the airport and says they will be deported immediately.

"The provocateurs will be dealt with in a determined and quick way," said Israel's public security minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, according to the country's news website Ynetnews.

"If they arrive in Israel they will be identified, removed from the plane, their entry to Israel will be prevented and they will be moved to a detention facility until they are flown out of Israel," the minister added.

The Israeli security forces are in standby to appropriately deal with the supporters who will be boarding civilian flights.

The protestors are planning to attend various events taking place at Bethlehem and other West Bank cities.

"We believe, like prisoners in prison, we are entitled to receive visitors and Palestinians under Israeli occupation are also entitled to receive visitors," the CNN quoted event co-ordinator Mazin Qumsiyeh as saying.

Qumsiyeh added that the Israeli government is preventing the international visitors from showing solidarity with the protestors.

The Israeli government is in touch with various airlines and supplied them with a list of people who are not to be allowed to enter the country. The government has also warned the airlines that they may need to fly them back their respective places if they are brought to Israel.

In 2011, these activists conducted a similar protest where hundreds have flown in to the country. But the determined Israeli government deported several of them and denied entry to the country.

According to some reports, the government used social media to track down the names of the activists last time. The same technique is expected to be used this time also.