Israel refuses entry to NI Nobel Peace Prize winner

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire has been refused entry into Israel.

She arrived at Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday morning from Frankfurt. A colleague who was with her was allowed into the country.

Both women had travelled to Israel as part of a women's peace delegation organized by the Nobel Women's Initiative.

Ms Maguire is appealing the decision by Israeli authorties.

That means she is being held until her appeal is heard by the court.

Ms Corrigan Maguire was one of five Irish activists deported from Tel Aviv in June after the ship they were travelling on tried to bring aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade.

The Rachel Corrie was carrying hundreds of tonnes of aid, including wheelchairs, medical supplies and cement.

Ms Maguire said that when Israeli officials told her she was being 'repatriated' in June, they did not mention that there was any official deportation order against her.

Jody Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize winner from the United States who is due to arrive in Israel later on Tuesday as part of the same delegation, said they were "very concerned" that a fellow activist had been refused entry into the country.

"Dedicating your life to peace should not be a threat to national security," she said.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire co-founded Women for Peace, which later became the Community for Peace People, along with fellow Belfast woman Betty Williams.

The two women were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for their efforts in trying to encourage a peaceful resolution to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.