By Paul Larudee
Pro-Palestinian activists hold placards to protest being prevented from boarding flights for which they had bought tickets at Atatürk airport in Istanbul. DHA photo |
There is, however, an established protocol for these purposes. It is for that country to require visas for all visitors. Under this protocol, the country determines in advance whom they will allow to enter, and the airline simply checks for the existence of a valid visa in the passport. The airline alerts any passenger that a visa is required prior to travel, which is a very normal request. And voila! No need to blaze a new trail and create disruptions to settle the matter.
Moreover, Israel already employs this protocol, but with other countries than France, Canada, Belgium, etc.. Visitors to Romania, the Philippines, and Eretria, for example, are required to obtain a visa before traveling to Israel, without which airlines refuse to let them board the aircraft. Why not apply the same system more widely, and for the same reason, i.e. toexclude “undesirables”, rather than imposing the responsibility on the airlines?
It is incomprehensible to me why airlines let themselves be pushed around this way. Why are they being made to do the job of Israeli consular authorities? They need to defend their rights without being intimidated by these Israeli thugs.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
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