TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) 鈥� Israel has released hundreds of and is in the process of deporting them, according to a legal organization working with the flotilla.
The Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said Thursday that all of the international activists are in transit to a civilian airport near the southern Israeli city of Eilat for deportation.
The group said one participant, Zohar Regev, who holds Israeli citizenship, was in a court hearing in the southern city of Ashkelon on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay. Regev has taken part in previous flotillas to Gaza.
Netanyahu calls for quick deportation after rebuking security minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he instructed that the activists be deported 鈥渁s soon as possible,鈥� after for a provocative video showing the minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.
Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop 鈥減rovocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,鈥� the way National Security Minister dealt with the activists was 鈥渘ot in line with Israel鈥檚 values and norms.鈥�
Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area on the deck of a ship.
Several countries, including Britain, France and Portugal, summoned Israeli envoys on Thursday over concerns about the treatment of flotilla activists and in protest of Ben-Gvir鈥檚 actions.
鈥淭he actions of Mr. Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, condemned even by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable,鈥� French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. Turkey, Greece, Italy and Indonesia also condemned Israel for Ben-Gvir’s comments and the treatment of flotilla activists.
Turkey plans to provide planes to retrieve activists
Turkey is sending planes to retrieve Turkish citizens and others who participated in the flotilla, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday. Around 85 Turkish nationals took part in the latest flotilla, according to Turkish media.
Dozens of the activists’ boats began setting sail from Spain to Gaza in April, with organizers saying they want to draw renewed attention to the conditions for nearly 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel vessels from the group on April 30 near the southern Greek island of Crete and forced most of its activists to disembark there.
Israel 鈥� Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago 脕vila 鈥� back to Israel where they were interrogated and detained for around a week .
The activists accused Israel of torture, claims Israel denies. Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for 鈥渒idnapping鈥� their citizens.
Participants then regrouped and more than 50 boats departed on May 14. Israeli forces around 268 kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, off the coast of Cyprus, according to the flotilla鈥檚 website.
Israel has repeatedly blocked similar attempts
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has called the flotilla 鈥渁 PR stunt at the service of Hamas鈥� with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a tiny, symbolic amount of aid.
This week, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called 鈥減ro-terror.鈥�
Last year Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving about 50 vessels and some 500 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela鈥檚 grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.
Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who . Israeli authorities denied the accusations.
Blockade of Gaza in place since 2007
Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it鈥檚 intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza鈥檚 Hamas-run government, doesn鈥檛 give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. 鈥� Andrew Wilks in Istanbul and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus contributed to this report.
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