Observation tower at Ben Gurion Airport
Photo: IAA
State: Airport security checks do not discriminate against Arabs
Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitions High Court of Justice about airport inspections, claiming Arab Israeli citizens always undergo stricter checks; State denies allegations
"Not all Arab citizens undergo strict security checks at the airport," the State replied to the petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) against airport security policy, which they say discriminates against Israeli Arabs.
In June of 2007 the HRA filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against Israel's Aviation Authority (IAA), the Shin Bet, and the Transportation Ministry demanding that the special inspections undergone by Arab travelers be abolished, and that equal security checks be established.
Following the ACRI's request, the court ordered the State to present certain details of the security inspection during the discussion held on the subject.
The State listed some of its security concerns: "All of the passengers undergo security checks, and the level of inspection is determined according to the level of the assessed security threat. This assessment is based on relative data deriving from intelligence and professional insights.
"There are a number of criteria for the separation of the traveling public into groups, in order to determine the level of threat and the security inspection level resulting from it. A strict inspection for citizens on whom there is no previous information is determined by a number of different parameters, there is no single parameter to name."
The State denied the claim that every Arab passenger undergoes a strict inspection, adding that "most of the population undergoes a speedy process, which does not cause heavy traffic or delay the passengers."
