650 plainclothes security agents have been deployed in Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday morning, 23 Nissan 5772 as today is the day “Operation Welcome to Palestine” is scheduled to take place. Hundreds of anti-Israel activists from Europe and elsewhere are expected to land in Israel in an effort to enter the country to take part in protests and other anti-Israel activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other state agencies during recent days have been working to thwart the operation, succeeding in part and “hundreds” of activists” were prevented from boarding flights to Israel in a number of countries as a result of the ministry’s black list of names, Israel Radio reports. Organizers of the anti-Israel event report over 60% of the participants were blocked from taking part due to Israel’s black list.

Minister of Public Security Yitzchak Aharonovich told the media that officers involved in the operation understand their orders, which are explicit, to avoid provocative actions when and wherever possible. “Anyone involved in disturbing the peace will be arrested”, the minister stated in a definitive tone.

The participants in the event will attempt to enter the country and then make their way to PA (Palestinian Authority) autonomous areas, where they will take part in pro-PA activities. Security officials have dubbed the operation Safe Room 2, and a sizable force has been allocated to address the potentially difficult situation to usurp the actions of activists before they begin.

The activists will be processed in Terminal 1, the old terminal at Ben-Gurion, where they will be processed and prepared for their return flight as they are expelled from the country. They will also be given a sarcastic letter thanking them for selecting Israel for focus on their humanitarian concerns, offering a number of other options towards satisfying their humanitarian good will including Syria, Iran and Gaza.

“You could have chosen to protest the Syrian regime’s daily savagery against its own people, which has claimed thousands of lives. You could have chosen to protest the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent and support of terrorism throughout the world. You could have chosen to protest Hamas rule in Gaza, where terror organizations commit a double war crime by firing rockets at civilians and hiding behind civilians”, the letter reads.

An estimated 50,000 people are expected to pass through the airport today, the day after yomtov, with 500-1,000 activists expected to attempt to enter the country.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)