JERUSALEM: Israel said on Thursday it had deported all the foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, following global outcry over their treatment in custody.
More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and diplomatic backlash on Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.
Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said on Thursday that “all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.”
He added: “Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
The legal center representing the activists said earlier on Thursday that the majority of the flotilla members were “en route for deportation” from Ramon Airport in Israel’s far south.
In a statement, Adalah added that the activists had been held at Israel’s Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.
Turkiye had announced it was sending planes to Israel to “bring our citizens and participants from third countries to Turkiye via special charter flights we will organize today.”
Foreign ministry sources said “three flights” with a capacity for “more than 400 passengers” were being sent to Ramon airport.
A spokesman for Adalah said activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt’s border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba.
‘Inflammatory video’
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
The deportations come after footage posted by Ben Gvir, captioned “Welcome to Israel” and showing the minister heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists, sparked resounding condemnation by governments around the world, from Italy to Spain and Australia to Canada.
He was also criticized at home by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, as well as by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
In the latest diplomatic backlash, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked the European Union to sanction Ben Gvir “for the unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tajani demanded an apology for the activists’ treatment and what they called Israel’s “total disrespect” for Italy’s requests.
The UK announced it had summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in Britain following “the inflammatory video.”
Britain summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires over the video, with its foreign ministry saying the content “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people.” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was “truly appalled” by the video.
Francesca Albanese, an outspoken UN expert on the Palestinian territories, called on Italy, where she is from, to take action.
The treatment of the flotilla activists “is a luxury compared to what is inflicted on Palestinians in Israeli prisons,” Albanese wrote on X.
“Words do not suffice: let Italy stop opposing the suspension” of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, she added.
‘They kicked us’
Adalah’s legal director Suhad Bishara told AFP Wednesday that the group’s lawyers had been able to give legal counsel to “many” of the hundreds of activists, though she added that others had faced court hearings without legal assistance.
“We know of at least two participants who were hospitalized... both of them were shot by rubber bullets,” Bishara said, adding that others said they feared they had broken ribs.
Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist detained with the flotilla activists and deported before the others, told reporters at Rome’s Fiumicino airport Thursday that he and others had been “taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens.”
“They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he said of his treatment by Israeli security forces.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, under blockade since 2007.
Since the start of the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Israel at times halting aid deliveries entirely.
A previous flotilla was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe.
Two were brought to Israel, detained for several days and then deported.
Global condemnation
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized Ben-Gvir over the treatment of the detained activists, saying that while the flotilla was a “stupid stunt,” Ben-Gvir had “betrayed the dignity” of Israel with his handling of the detainees.
European Council President Antonio Costa said he was “appalled” by Ben-Gvir’s treatment of aid flotilla members attempting to enter Gaza. “This behavior is completely unacceptable. We call for their immediate release,” Costa said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for accountability. “There must be investigations in all cases of torture and other forms of ill treatment against Palestinians and foreigners, and those responsible must be held to account,” said Thameen Al-Kheetan.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the images were unacceptable and said Spain “will not tolerate anyone mistreating our citizens.” Sanchez added that his government would push for Spain’s ban on Ben-Gvir entering the country to be urgently extended across the European Union.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he had summoned the Israeli ambassador after the video emerged, calling Ben-Gvir’s actions “unacceptable.” Barrot said French citizens must be treated with respect and freed as soon as possible, while adding that he opposed the flotilla’s approach.
The backlash also prompted criticism within Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the interception of the flotilla but said Ben-Gvir’s treatment of the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he had summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires over the detention of the activists, demanding their immediate release and an apology. He also requested that the interior ministry ban Ben-Gvir from entering Poland, a spokesperson said.
Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said 14 Irish citizens who joined the flotilla are in buses on their way to Istanbul from where they will be deported. “We have raised in no uncertain terms the horror and dissatisfaction at the way in which our citizens have been treated,” McEntee told parliament.
Greece urged Israel to release its detained nationals. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said: “We call on the Israeli authorities to proceed with the rapid completion of all procedures and the immediate release of the Greek citizens.”
Canada said it would summon the Israeli ambassador in protest at the video, described by Foreign Minister Anita Anand as “deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable.” Prime Minister Mark Carney later described Israel’s treatment of the detained activists as “abominable” and “unacceptable.”
The Netherlands will summon Israel’s ambassador over what it called the “unacceptable” treatment of the activists. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the images were “shocking,” adding he had raised the matter with Israel’s foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized Ben-Gvir over the treatment of the activists, saying he had harmed Israel in a “disgraceful display” and undermined the work of Israeli soldiers and diplomats.
“No, you are not the face of Israel,” Saar said in a post on X.
