France warns activists against West Bank trip

France urged pro-Palestinian activists, who plan to visit Bethlehem this month in solidarity with residents of the occupied West Bank, to avoid joining the operation given there was a high risk of being detained or turned back by Israeli authorities. About 1,200 Palestinian supporters throughout Europe have bought plane tickets for the visit on April 15 to help open an international school and a museum at the request of a local organization called "Welcome to Palestine". A similar, though smaller, operation last year led to a few hundred activists being blocked at European airports. Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said on Monday that while Paris wanted foreigners to travel freely to the West Bank, Israel had made it clear it would not allow anybody who threatened public order to enter the country. "France is concerned by the risk of incidents ... as part of 'Welcome to Palestine' operation" he said. "For this reason, we advise our citizens to not take part in this initiative given the risk of being turned away or being detained." Israel has occupied the West Bank, home to 2.5 million Palestinians, since 1967. Any visitor to the Palestinian territory must pass Israeli checkpoints to enter. "Our goal is to show, unlike our politicians, there are women and men and many people in the world that are upset about this situation, that care about Palestinians," Olivia Zemor, coordinator of the French contingent, told Reuters. "We are coming to show the world we are not prepared to give up human rights and international law," added Zemor.