Police were called to the ITB tourism trade fair in Berlin to protect the Israel stand from a group of security firm employees who had stormed it.

The incident occurred on Thursday and was initially reported by the Tagesspiegel newspaper and was confirmed to dpa by police on Friday morning.

Three men from a security firm employed by the fair organizers mobbed the Israel stand shouting "Free Palestine," police said.

Police have been alerted to protect the stand from further possible attacks.

Police identified the three men and expelled them from the fair grounds.

Tagesspiegel reported that witnesses said that the men were had an Arab background, but the police did not immediately confirm this on Friday.