Israel 'severely' abuses Gaza flotilla activists including Greta Thunberg

Bangla Press Desk: Israel abused and subjected to horrific mistreatment over 100 lawmakers and human rights activists, including Greta Thunberg, after its Navy attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, the activists and an Israeli legal counsel agency have said.

Turkish activist Ersin Celik, who was among those detained and deported to Istanbul on Saturday, told CNN Turk that Israeli soldiers "severely" abused Greta, 22, "before our eyes."

“They made her crawl and made her kiss the Israeli flag. They did exactly what the Nazis did once.”

Two other activists who joined the humanitarian mission corroborated the claims.

Israeli group Adalah said many activists were forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted “Free Palestine".

Some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medications, and toilets, Adalah added.

"We were brutally stopped ... brutally taken hostage", said Benedetta Scuderi, an Italian parliamentarian.

Israel did not immediately comment on the new allegations, but its foreign ministry earlier described reports that detainees had been mistreated as "complete lies".

Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday after being deported.

The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, Turkish foreign ministry sources said.

It was not clear if Thunberg had been deported or was still in Israeli custody. 

Thunberg 'treated terribly', activist alleges

Two of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag.

"It was a disaster. They treated us like animals," said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated.

Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was "treated terribly" and "used as propaganda", describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived.

Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.

Its foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were "safe and in good health", adding it was keen to complete the remaining deportations "as quickly as possible".

In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of "deliberately obstructing" the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to independently verify the allegation.

Israel denies allegations

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days – along with activists from other nations.

"I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights", Tajani wrote on X.

A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Friday.

"Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza", Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.

The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian militant group Hamas' deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.

Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a "lawful naval blockade". This article was originally published on Daily Sun.

BP/ZE