Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday praised the actions of the Shin Bet and other security agencies for minimizing the impact of Operation Welcome to Palestine.

Despite Mr. Netanyahu’s words of praise there is much criticism surrounding the “black list” that was used to mark anti-Israel activists, barring them from boarding flights and/or entering the country. According to media reports, 40% of the non-citizens appearing on the black list are not actually “pro-Palestinian activists”, but people without any such background, including prominent business people and corporate executives. Israel Radio reported the list “almost doubled to close to 800 names ahead of the operation”.

Foreign Ministry officials are not apologizing, but are rather pleased with the results, admitting they included people who might be far removed from the grass roots activism in the hope of minimizing the impact of the international anti-Israel operation. Ministry officials support the move, which they feel can be measured the extent of the victory seen in Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday, 23 Nissan. Critics fear the move may have resulted in damage to the tourism industry.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)