By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Israel deported all the foreign activists it seized from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday, hours after an international outcry over images of the detainees kneeling bound and hooded on the ground and reports of rough treatment in custody.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, confirmed the expulsions in a statement, saying “all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.” He added that “Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
The move came after the Israeli rights group Adalah, which represents many of the detainees, said it had received official confirmation from the Israeli Prison Service that all activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla and the broader Freedom Flotilla Coalition had been released from Ktziot prison. The majority were being transferred to Ramon Airport in southern Israel for flights out of the country, the group said. One organizer of the mission, Thiago Avila, posted on X that at least one participant, identified only as Zohar, was already free, with others expected to reach Istanbul by 6 p.m. local time. “The world mobilisation is working!” he wrote. “Keep talking about Gaza and showing solidarity with Palestine.”
More than 430 activists from dozens of countries had been taken into custody after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla at sea earlier this week. The vessels, roughly 50 in number, had sailed from Turkey in what activists described as the latest attempt to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the territory. The deportation followed intense diplomatic pressure and widespread condemnation triggered by a video posted Wednesday on X by Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. The footage showed detainees kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads pressed to the ground as Ben-Gvir heckled them and waved an Israeli flag. It was captioned “Welcome to Israel.”
Adalah reported that one Israeli citizen among the activists faced a court hearing Thursday on “absurd” and contradictory charges, including “illegal entry into Israel,” “unlawful stay” and attempting to break the blockade. The group’s legal director, Suhad Bishara, said lawyers had been able to advise “many” of the hundreds of detainees, though some had appeared in court without counsel. She told Agence France-Presse that at least two participants had been hospitalized after being shot with rubber bullets and that others reported fearing they had broken ribs.
Two Italians who were deported earlier described harsh treatment. Journalist Alessandro Mantovani told reporters upon landing in Rome that he and others had been taken to Ben Gurion Airport in handcuffs and leg chains before being flown to Athens. “They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel,’” he said. Dario Carotenuto, an Italian member of Parliament, said the detainees were addressed by number with rifles pointed at them. “It was really tough,” he said. “I think those were the longest seconds in my life.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office, which had condemned the interception and detention earlier Thursday, had identified one of the detainees as Saad Edhi, son of prominent Pakistani social worker Faisal Edhi and grandson of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, founder of the Edhi Foundation. The ministry had demanded the immediate release of all those held and said it was working through diplomatic channels, including its mission in Jordan accredited to Palestine, to secure Edhi’s freedom.
The flotilla interception was the latest in a series of such attempts. A previous convoy was stopped last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe. In October of last year, Israeli forces halted another flotilla organized by the same coalition and arrested more than 450 participants, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Among those detained in both earlier operations was former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was later released.
Shortly before Thursday’s releases, Khan posted a letter from his party, the Pakistani Rights Movement, addressed to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The letter described Edhi’s detention as an “unlawful abduction” and urged immediate diplomatic action through the United Nations and other channels to secure his unconditional release. “The Edhi family represented the very identity, soul, and moral compass of Pakistan,” the letter said. “Their decades of unparalleled, selfless service to humanity are not normal accomplishments. They are monumental, historic, and recognised globally.” It called on the government to keep the Edhi family and the Pakistani public regularly informed of steps being taken and to raise the issue at all international forums.
Ben-Gvir’s video drew sharp criticism not only from foreign governments but also from within Israel and from the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar publicly distanced themselves from the images, as did U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called the actions “despicable.” Italy, Spain, Australia and Canada joined earlier condemnations from Britain, France, Ireland, Greece and Turkey. United Nations expert Francesca Albanese, who is Italian, urged her government on X to stop opposing the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, writing that “words do not suffice.”
Pakistan had joined Turkey, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, Maldives and Spain earlier this week in a joint statement by their foreign ministers condemning the flotilla’s interception. Israel has maintained a naval blockade of Gaza since 2007, when Hamas seized control of the territory. All entry points remain under Israeli control. The current war began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and has caused severe shortages of food, medicine and other supplies in Gaza, with Israel at times completely halting aid deliveries.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
