ANKARA, (PIC)
Following global outcry over their inhumane treatment in custody, the Israeli occupation regime deported on Thursday all the foreign activists kidnaped by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla earlier this week.
According to different media sources, the Global Sumud Flotilla activists, whose vessels were intercepted earlier this week in international waters by Israeli naval forces as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were all deported from Israel on Thursday.
Earlier, Türkiye announced it was sending three chartered airliners to Israel to repatriate its citizens and those of other countries, including Spanish nationals.
Jordan has confirmed that two of its nationals have returned home via the southern crossing with Israel.
For its part, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, told Al Jazeera satellite channel that most of the roughly 430 detained activists were being transported to Ramon Airport in southern Israel, from where they would be deported. The rest will be deported from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday, May 20, showing detained activists from the Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking widespread condemnation and calls for their swift release and deportation.
The video, shared on X by Ben Gvir, was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels in international waters and kidnaped hundreds of foreign activists.
Captioned “Welcome to Israel,” the footage shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military vessel kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground with the Israeli national anthem playing in the background. The footage also shows Ben Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag amongst the detained activists as they were being humiliated and assaulted by Israeli soldiers.
