An interfaith convoy crossing the Sahara to promote coexistence in the Middle East was halted yesterday when Libya refused it entry because it included Israelis.
"Israel does not exist as a country, it is Palestine. We don't allow occupiers into our country," the Jerusalem Post quoted a Libyan official as telling nine members of the Breaking the Ice group as they tried to enter from Egypt.
According to the group's Web site, three Israelis - including a former combat pilot - are taking part in the trek, as well as the former body-double of one of Saddam Hussein's sons, a Palestinian student, an Iranian film maker and a New York City fire fighter.
Traveling by camel, on foot and in two 1960s-era German trucks, the group left Jerusalem on March 7 carrying an olive tree from the Israeli capital as a gesture of peace and goodwill.
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