Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Sunday evening, and thanked the officers and commanders of the Israel Police for their determined and successful operation in foiling the ‘flytilla’ that was intended to be carried out at the Ben Gurion International Airport.
Netanyahu told Aharonovitch, “The deployment of the operational and diplomatic elements proved itself. Today, the world better understands where the true problems are in the Middle East.”
Earlier it was reported that several hundred police officers remained at the airport until Sunday night, to ward off possible mayhem by foreign leftists taking part in the ‘flytilla’ anti-Israel protest.
According to updated figures released on Sunday evening, a total of 78 radical leftists and anarchists landed at the airport throughout the day on Sunday. 56 of them were arrested for trying to cause a provocation in the Israeli terminal, 18 were deported back to their country of origin and four others are being held in a detention center at the airport.
The activists who arrived at the airport were given sarcastic letters which read:
“Dear Activists,
“We appreciate your choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian concerns.
“We know there were many other worthy choices.
“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 its 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.
“But instead, you chose to protest against Israel, the Middle East’s sole democracy, where women are equal, the press criticizes the government, human rights organizations can operate freely, religious freedom is protected for all – and minorities do not live in fear.”
“Therefore, we suggest you solve the real problems of the region first, and then come back and share your experiences with us.
“Have a nice flight.”
