The Israel Foreign Ministry has confirmed on Saturday the beginning of the process of Deportation of 137 crew of the ships belonging to the, when they tried to break the Israeli maritime block over the Gaza Strip.
Activists, from 14 countriesthey will be repatriated via Türkiye, according to Israeli authorities. Among them are citizens of the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Malaysia, Bahrain, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia and Turkey.
The spokesman of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Öncü Keçeli, has affirmed that 36 of the deportees are Turkish citizens. Italy, meanwhile, confirmed through its Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the presence of 26 Italians among those expelled.
Israel has described the members of the flotilla as “provocative“accusing them of acting under the disguise of humanitarian aid with the objective, according to the government, of provoking tensions under the orders of Hamas, an organization to which Tel Aviv considers terrorist. However, the organizers of the deny this accusation, defending that their mission was exclusively humanitarian and peaceful.
In addition, Israeli authorities have denounced that some activists have refused to accept immediate deportation, prolonging their permanence in the country. Have also criticized that “Several foreign governments” “Without specifying which ones,” they would be showing reluctance to facilitate the return of their citizens on organized flights.
