TEL AVIV, Israel ? Scores of pro-Palestinian activists trying to reach Tel Aviv as part of a coordinated protest were blocked at European airports, and six activists who managed to land Friday were deported as Israel moved to defuse the mass arrival envisioned by organizers.
Concerned by the growing number of confrontations with media-savvy activists and the international criticism that has often ensued, Israel took a number of measures to avoid a clash this time by preventing protesters from reaching the country altogether.
Hundreds of activists had planned to arrive at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport over the weekend, beginning late Thursday. Organizers insisted they were on a peaceful, weeklong mission to express solidarity with the Palestinians and draw attention to life under Israeli occupation, including travel restrictions.
Israel tightened security at Ben-Gurion International Airport ahead of the their arrival and asked foreign airlines to prevent blacklisted travelers from boarding Israel-bound flights.
By mid-afternoon Friday, the Israeli measures had been successful in preventing significant disruptions at the airport, although more arrivals were expected later in the day and Saturday.
At Israel's request, several airlines barred about 200 would-be protesters from boarding flights to Israel from Europe, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
"The companies did not allow them on the airplanes because we told them clearly they wouldn't be able to enter Israel," Rosenfeld said.
One of the organizers, French activist Olivia Zemor, said her group planned only nonviolent activities. The group, "Welcome to Palestine," released a statement Friday calling the moves to prevent activists from reaching Israel "provocative, blackmailing and illegal."
At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, several would-be protesters were turned away from check-in counters, and protesters subsequently gathered in the terminal, shouting "Boycott Israel," as French police stood by.
Cynthia Beatt, a British citizen living in Germany, told The Associated Press that she had been barred from boarding a Lufthansa plane Friday morning in Berlin. She had planned to take part in the protest.
"Lufthansa called me last night and said I would not be allowed to board their plane because Israel denied me entry," Beatt said.
In Geneva, dozens of activists were barred from boarding an EasyJet flight to Tel Aviv. Aline Yazgi, a spokeswoman for Switzerland's second biggest airport, said the passengers tried to pass through security without a boarding card and were turned back, closing part of the airport for about 40 minutes as a result.
An EasyJet spokesman in Geneva, Adrian Fuhrer, said 40 people were prevented from boarding the plane at the request of Israeli authorities. "It was compulsory for EasyJet not to let these people on board," Fuhrer said.
The detailed lists showed that Israel has been tracking the activists. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, police and intelligence units followed social networks used by the groups organizing the protest.
Israel's public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, told reporters at the airport near Tel Aviv that the list of banned activists consisted of about 340 names. Organizers of the protest said a total of about 600 people were scheduled to take part.
Six would-be protesters had arrived in Israel and had been deported by Friday afternoon, Aharonovitch said.
Israel has not publicized its criteria for denying entry, but has said peaceful visitors will not be deported.
The activists have placed Israel in an awkward position. Authorities are determined to keep out people they consider hostile agitators, but critics in Israel have said the government's high-profile reaction has only served to draw attention to the activists' attempt to gain publicity.
Israel's concern is rooted in a number of deadly run-ins with pro-Palestinian activists, both on the high seas and along the frontiers with Lebanon and Syria. The best-known, in May 2010, resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists in a clash with Israeli troops aboard a vessel trying to breach Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The activists say they want to express solidarity with the Palestinians in the West Bank and draw attention to life under Israeli occupation, including travel restrictions.
Visitors can reach the West Bank only through Israeli-controlled crossings, either through international airports or the land border with Jordan. Citing security concerns, Israel bars most Palestinians from entering Israel or using its airport, meaning they must travel to neighboring Jordan to fly out.
At any given time, hundreds of foreigners, including activists and aid workers, are in the West Bank.
Travel restrictions in the Gaza Strip, ruled by the militant Hamas group, are even more rigorous. Israel allows few people to cross its border with Gaza, and most Gazans can travel abroad only by crossing into Egypt through their shared border.
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Associated Press writers Ariel David at Ben-Gurion Airport, Angela Charlton in Paris, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and Frank Jordans in London contributed to this report.
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