Israel has detained at least 45 suspected pro-Palestinians at Tel Aviv’s international airport and blocked hundreds more from boarding Israel-bound flights. Activists were attempting to stage what they described as a “flytilla.” Organizers said some 1,200 Palestinian supporters throughout Europe had bought plane tickets to Israel, planning to travel on to the occupied West Bank as part of a campaign called “Welcome to Palestine.” To disrupt the campaign, Israel distributed no-fly lists to European carriers. The Palestinian activist Abdul Fatah abu Suroor helped organize the flytilla.

Abdul Fatah abu Suroor: “We have many people who were arrested at the airport, who managed to arrive to Ben Gurion Airport, to Al Lod Airport. We have about 400 French and 100 Belgian and many others from other countries who were forbidden to take the plane from origin, and those who managed to get in were also arrested at the airport.”