Palestinian official slams treatment of Arab passengers

A Palestinian official criticizes the treatment of two Arab passengers who disembarked from an Israel-bound flight after other travelers complained of security concerns.

The Greek Aegean Airlines says the two passengers agreed to take a later flight from Athens after passengers “persistently and vocally complained” and demanded additional security checks.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat says the passengers were treated with “discrimination and prejudice.”

A passenger on the flight identified only as Nissim told Israeli Army Radio that one passenger appeared suspicious. He said no one cited the passengers’ ethnicity as a reason for their concerns. He said “no one was racist.”

Aegean, who identified the Arab passengers as Israeli, called the incident “unfortunate” and thanked the two passengers for their cooperation. The incident took place Sunday.

— AP