[IsraelTimes] An Italian Catholic priest who has been harshly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza has been denied entry to the country and placed on a flight from Tel Aviv to Greece, according to Italian media reports and the priest’s own Facebook page.
Father Nandino Capovilla, 63, a priest in Marghera, near Venice, landed at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday to take part in a “Pilgrimage of Justice” organized by the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, at border control, Capovilla was stopped and eventually given a form to sign, which read that he could not enter Israel for reasons related to security or public order.
On his Facebook account, the priest regularly posts materials about the plight of the Palestinian people. In his posts, Capovilla has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide.
“I AM FREE! They let me out now,” Capovilla wrote on Facebook last night. “My cell phone and suitcase have been returned. All good.”
Capovilla encouraged any journalist who would cover his case to “demand sanctions” for a state that “among its ‘mistakes’ bombs mosques and churches.”
“I will not allow any journalist to interview me about my seven hours in detention if they don’t write about a people who has been prisoner in their land for 70 years,” he adds.
The rest of the Pax Christi group has been able to continue with their pilgrimage. 
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