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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Activism Home page  back Print  Send To friend France warns pro-Palestinian activists against West Bank trip Pauline Mevel and Alexandria Sage Reuters Apr 2 2012 http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USL6E8F26Z120120402 * 1,200 activists plan April 15 solidarity trip * France fears `Welcome to Palestine` mission risks incidents By Pauline Mevel and Alexandria Sage PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - France urged pro-Palestinian activists, who plan to visit Bethlehem this month in solidarity for 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 organisation 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.` The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since a war in 1967. Some 2.5 million Palestinians and about 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinians, who want to create their own state together with the Gaza Strip, object to illegal Jewish settlements, trade restrictions and scant water supply, and their limited autonomy. `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. (Additional reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alison Williams) © Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. rh Links to the latest articles in this section Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Saturday night protests: No to Netanyahu`s war!