Hundreds of police and special forces will converge on Ben-Gurion Airport to block the entry of pro-Palestinian activists on Sunday, but human rights activists say the airport has no authority to deny entry to anyone intending to visit the Palestinian territories.

Hundreds of police officers, most of them in plainclothes and unarmed, will await the so-called fly-in at Ben-Gurion on Sunday, while special forces will deploy outside the terminal.

The foreign, transportation, interior and public security ministries are working together to thwart the protest with as little commotion as possible, in a bid to prevent the activists from achieving a public relations victory, officials said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Interior Ministry has given airlines the names of activists who are denied entry to Israel and told them that if any activists arrive, the airlines will have to fly them back at the companies’ expense.

Last summer Israel thwarted a similar fly-in, when around 200 activists were not allowed to board flights at their country of origin. Others were detained at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Undercover police agents will staff passport control counters, seen as the first possible friction point between the activists and the authorities, police sources said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Match my Passover gift!

$90 → $180 $360 → $720

$180 → $360 Other amount