The Israel Police will dispatch hundreds of police officers to Ben- Gurion Airport on Sunday to await pro-Palestinian activists who plan to arrive in Israel.

According to the police´s evaluations, between 500 and 1,000 activists will try to land in Israel on 20 flights from Western Europe and Turkey throughout Sunday.

A national operation has been set up to deal with the activists, who police view as hostile elements seeking to create provocations, disturbances, and attract media attention.

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has received ministerial responsibility to oversee the operation, while central police district chief Cmdr. Bentsi Sao will oversee its implementation.

The activists chose one of Ben-Gurion Airport´s busiest days to land, as around 45,000 ordinary passengers are expected to pass through the airport on Sunday. The police´s primary concern is to keep the site running in a routine manner.

To that end, police officers met with representatives of the intelligence community on Wednesday morning, going over information and details of the operation to prevent the activists from bypassing security.

According to evaluations, the foreign activists plan to meet up with Palestinian activists and demonstrate in traditional flashpoints, such as the security fence and east Jerusalem.

Police are also preparing for the possibility that Israeli anarchists and other far-left activists may try to meet the foreigners at the airport, and are determined to prevent that from occurring.

The Public Security Ministry said that like last year, senior activists intent on creating disturbances will be identified before they board planes to Israel.

During last year´s ´flytilla,´ the majority of activists were prevented from boarding passenger jets bound for Israel after the Foreign Ministry submitted lists of names to airlines.

If the activists manage to arrive in Israel, they will be taken off the planes and denied entry.

The activists will be placed in temporary holding cells before being deported to their points of origin.

"Israel will prevent this provocation, just as every country prevents the entry of hostile elements to its territory," Aharonovitch said this week.

"We will be determined and speedy in our response, but we will not chase anyone through the halls of the airport," he added. (© 1995- 2011, The Jerusalem Post 04/11/12)