Israel Matzav

BDS'ers boosting Israeli economy

Pro-'Palestinian' groups are planning on sending large numbers of activists on 'fly-ins' to Israel in July to try to embarrass the Israeli government.

A report published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center claims the organizers of the event believe the "end the siege" convoys are "too limited" and broader actions are needed to "remove the blockade from the entire land of Palestine."

According to the organizers' website, the date of arrival to Ben-Gurion airport is set on July 8, because on July 9, 2004 the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an advisory opinion stating that the security fence erected by Israel is illegal.

According to the organizers, 500 people already booked their flights to Israel, including families and children hailing from Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa.

After holding a protest rally at Ben-Gurion Airport, the activists plan to travel to the West Bank for solidarity meetings with local Palestinians.

Fifteen organizations, most of which are Palestinian, are behind the fly-in initiative, including the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which "specializes" in disrupting IDF activities in the West Bank.

If I'm an executive of a commercial airline that operates flights into Israel, I'm not very happy about this. There are two possibilities. Either Israel lets them in, in which case they make some contribution to the Israeli economy just by being there, and then (hopefully) they leave. If Israel doesn't let them in (which is far more likely given that we now know when they're arriving), the airlines that brought them have to transport them home at the airlines' expense (yes, folks, that's why the airlines really do care whether you have a valid passport with you).

Oh, and then there's a mini-arrival by Hamas...

Meanwhile, Hamas sources also called on Palestinian refugees to arrive to Israeli airports on commercial flights as part of the "Naksa Day" events.

A message posted on the group's website called Palestinian refugees to fly into Israel's airports on June 4 and 5.

I really hope I manage to avoid them on the way home.

Heh.

Labels: Ben Gurion Airport, International Solidarity Movement, Palestinian fly-in, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:13 PM