Israel is preparing to deport 120 pro-Palestinian activists who'd flown into the Middle Eastern state to participate in protests. The would-be protesters were mostly European and were being held in jails awaiting available flights over the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday.

The activists were participating in the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign - dubbed by some the "flytilla" - in which up to 800 activists were to fly in on an ostensibly peaceful mission to visit Palestinian families.

Most of the activists were French, with the others being American, Belgian, Bulgarian, Dutch and Spanish.

The flytilla was linked to the seventh anniversary of the International Court of Justice's ruling that Israel should dismantle a separation barrier it is building inside the West Bank along the 1948 armistice line.

Protests continue

Between 50 and 100 activists slipped past the immigration cordon in Israel, organizers of the protest told the German news agency dpa.

Protesters gathered at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah to demand the removal of the checkpoint and an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The Qalandia protest was one of several planned by the organizers of Welcome to Palestine over the next few days.

Author: Stuart Tiffen (dpa, AFP)
Editor: David Levitz