text: PARIS, April 5 (UPI) -- A French court ordered Air France to pay damages and a fine for forcing a pro-Palestine activist off a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, because she was not Jewish. 
   
   The court Thursday gave the airline a 10,000 euro ($13,021) fine, and obligated it to pay 3,000 euros ($3,902) to Horia Ankour, 30, a nursing student who attempted to fly from France to Israel in April 2012 to participate in a "Welcome to Palestine" campaign which saw hundreds of activists seek access to Israel to travel to the Palestinian territories, Radio France Internationale reported Friday. 
   
   Heavy pressure by Israel forced cancellation of about 300 flights in Europe that day. Ankour was taken off a plane in Nice, France, after an Air France employee asked if she had an Israeli passport and if she was Jewish. She answered no to both questions, and was escorted from the flight, RFI said. 
   
   French prosecutors back her case in court, calling it a case of discrimination. Air France claimed Ankour's name was on a list of undesirables provided by the Israeli government. ||||| Air France fined for forcing non-Jewish passenger off flight 
   
   PARIS — A French court on Thursday ordered Air France to pay a 10,000 euro ($12,800) fine for having ordered a pro-Palestinian activist off a flight to Tel Aviv because she was not Jewish. 
   
   The court also ordered the French flagship carrier to pay 3,000 euros in damages to the passenger and her legal fees. 
   
   Horia Ankour, a nursing student, had attempted to fly to Israel from France last April to take part in the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign, which saw hundreds of activists seek access to Israel in a bid to travel to the Palestinian territories. 
   
   Europe's main airlines faced a wave of passenger fury during the campaign after cancelling some 300 tickets following heavy Israeli pressure. 
   
   Ankour was taken off the plane in the southeastern city of Nice after an Air France employee asked whether she had an Israeli passport and then, when she replied "no", whether she was Jewish. 
   
   When the 30-year-old answered "no" again she was escorted from the flight. 
   
   French prosecutors had backed her in the case, saying it was a clear case of discrimination. 
   
   Air France had said her name was on a list of undesirables provided by Israeli authorities and it was certain she would not be allowed into the country. 
   
   Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
target: – A French court has fined Air France nearly $13,000 for removing a pro-Palestinian activist from a flight headed for Tel Aviv, Israel, UPI reports. The airline was also ordered to pay about $3,900 to the passenger, 30-year-old Horia Ankour, who was trying to attend a "Welcome to Palestine" event in the Palestinian territories. It all started when an employee on the flight last April asked Ankour whether she had an Israeli passport. Ankour said no, and said no again when asked whether she was Jewish. At that point she was escorted from the plane. French prosecutors argued that Air France had discriminated against Ankour, and the court agreed. Following pressure from Israel, Europe's major airlines canceled about 300 tickets surrounding the pro-Palestinian campaign, AFP reports.