The date, 8 July, was chosen because on that day in 2004, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations in an advisory opinion stated that the Israeli West Bank barrier was illegal.
Fifteen organisations are involved in the initiative, including the International Solidarity Movement, which is active in weekly protests against the West Bank security fence at Bil’in.
People arriving on 8 July will come from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Germany will be one of the participants’ main departure points.
“We are pacifists,” organisers wrote. “We will have nothing dangerous in our bags. We call on our elected representatives and our governments during the following months to ensure that we shall be normally and properly treated on our arrival in Ben Gourion [sic] airport, as are Israeli citizens when they come to our countries.”
On 4 and 5 June, a Hamas-linked website called on Palestinian refugees and their descendants to travel to Israel on commercial flights on Saturday and Sunday as part of events commemorating the “Naksa”, or Arab defeat in the Six Day War, so far with little success.