Ben Gurion Airport security officials detain Ivan Prado for six hours, accusing the Spanish entertainer of ties with Palestinian terror groups.
Haaretz, 6 May 2010
Ivan Prado, the most famous clown in Spain, did not expect to be put on a return flight back to Madrid soon after arriving at Ben-Gurion International Airport late last month, after spending six hours with officials from the Shin Bet security service and the Interior Ministry. The officials accused Prado of having ties to Palestinian terror organizations.
Foreign Ministry officials, meanwhile, say the incident caused grave damage to Israel's image in Spain.
Prado, director of the International Clown Festival in Galicia, arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on April 26 with a Spanish national of Arab origin. They planned to go to Ramallah to help organize a similar festival, but at passport control Prado was taken aside by a Shin Bet officer who asked him about his planned visit to the West Bank and about his connections to various Palestinian organizations. He and his female companion were held for six hours, during which they were questioned repeatedly, and their passports were confiscated.
They were sent back to Spain after an Interior Ministry official informed them that they would not be permitted into Israel.
... those who were deported from the sociopathic racist state, or the goons from Shit Ben who now have their buddies over in the Foreign Ministry kvetching to beat the band?