Israel has already completed the express deportation of more than 430 foreign activists who were traveling aboard the new humanitarian aid flotilla intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea while en route to the Gaza Strip. The decision was made quickly, unlike on other occasions, after the outbreak of an international diplomatic crisis caused by a video in which Israel’s Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir, appears rebuking and mocking the detainees.
The incident has unleashed a wave of indignation abroad and an apparent fracture within the Israeli Government. In the recording, published on social networks by Ben-Gvir himself, dozens of international activists are seen being held, kneeling in rows and with their hands tied behind their backs with zip ties. The minister publicly demands that they not be deported immediately, but rather that they be transferred to prisons intended for “terrorists”, as he calls them.
The dissemination of the images provoked urgent calls for consultations from several Western governments – such as Spain. Upon their return, when they have reached safe ground, the activists are denouncing that they have suffered attacks and physical abuse in Israeli custody. And the first images of what he experienced are already spreading, an “unbearable violence” in “a place of terror,” in his own words.
The Turkish authorities have shown videos in which the pro-Palestinian activists are seen being treated on a stretcher upon arrival at the Istanbul airport, given their weakness. In addition, Palestinian media such as the Palestinian news agency Quds News Network have published photos with the bruises and wounds of some of them, caused by hitting, pushing, pressure and immobilization for hours, according to the accounts of those affected.
Among the testimonies collected after the expulsions is that of the Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who reported that they were transferred with their hands and feet chained: “They beat us, kicked us and punched us while they shouted ‘welcome to Israel’.”
For his part, Italian MEP Dario Carotenuto returned with a visible bruise on his eye. Likewise, the human rights organization Adalah reported that some women were forced to strip naked and run while guards taunted them, and the use of rubber bullets by Israeli forces during the assault on the boats was reported.
The two South Korean activists have also denounced, upon their arrival in their country, having suffered torture and “unbearable violence.” Kim Ah-hyun and Kim Dong-hyeon talk about “torture” and “unbearable violence.”
The NGO Adalah has reported that those disembarked are currently undergoing medical examinations, in which bruises, fractures, burns and signs of sexual violence are currently being detected.
The ultra minister
Ben-Gvir’s actions have been the visible example of this mistreatment. The video of the ultra minister, partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has caused an internal political crisis in Israel at a time of tension in the face of possible early elections. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar harshly attacked his cabinet colleague on the social network
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although he defended the legality of intercepting the flotilla to maintain the naval blockade on Gaza, distanced himself from Ben-Gvir’s attitude, stating that the behavior exhibited in the video does not represent the country’s values or standards. To stem the diplomatic conflict, Netanyahu ordered the immediate deportation of all those involved as quickly as possible.
Despite this, they are just words and there have been no political consequences. In fact, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, interviewed on CNN, has complained about this, confirming that, tweets aside, no one has apologized for the treatment of his nationals. “A country that proclaims itself a democracy does not behave like that,” he maintains. “Such inhuman and humiliating treatment cannot be inflicted on citizens… It seems appalling, outrageous… and I will never accept that my citizens are treated in this way by anyone in the world,” he denounced in his speech.
The activists, who include citizens of various nationalities such as delegations from Spain (with about 44), Ireland and Greece, were transferred by buses from southern Israel to the Ramón airport, in Eilat, to be repatriated.
The first flights with deportees arrived yesterday in Istanbul (Türkiye), where the activists were received with cheers and slogans of support for Palestine.
