Israel stops 200 pro-Palestinian activists from boarding flights

SOME 200 pro-Palestinian activists have been barred from leaving foreign airports for Israel, where authorities are poised to deport others who manage to fly in, Israeli police said.

After Greece grounded a flotilla that tried to sail in contravention of the Gaza Strip blockade this month, international protesters mobilised to flock to Ben-Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, in a challenge to Israel’s curbs on accessing the occupied West Bank.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu denounced them as provocateurs.