Officials at Israel's international airport have refused entry to 69 pro-Palestinian activists and said most would be repatriated on the first available flights.

Sabine Hadad, an immigration spokeswoman, said that four people had already flown out of Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, and the remaining 65 were in custody waiting to travel.

"They are from Spain, the Netherlands, many from France, Bulgaria, the United States, Germany," she said. "Legally they have been refused entry. They are not in Israel."