International activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have given further accounts of mistreatment by guards during their detention.
The latest claims made by participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla added to the growing scrutiny of Israel on Sunday for its treatment of the activists.
Some 450 participants in the flotilla were arrested between Wednesday and Friday as Israeli forces intercepted the boats, which were seeking to break a naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Palestinians in the besieged territory.
Speaking at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on his return on Sunday, Italian activist Cesare Tofani said, “We were treated terribly … From the army, we moved on to the police. There was harassment,” ANSA news agency reported.
Yassine Lafram, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, who landed at Milan Malpensa Airport with the activists, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “They even treated us violently, pointing weapons at us, and this is absolutely unacceptable for us in a country that considers itself democratic.”
Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi, who landed at Fiumicino Airport late on Saturday, said Israeli soldiers had withheld medicines and treated the detained activists “like monkeys”, The Associated Press reported.
He said the Israeli guards mocked the detained activists – who included Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers – in order to “demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about”.
Activists targeted with laser sights
Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino said that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis”.
Speaking to AP on his arrival at Turkiye’s Istanbul Airport after being deported from Israel on Saturday, he said he had been repeatedly woken up by guards during the two nights he spent in detention.
He said the detained activists were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us”.
Another activist, Paolo De Montis, reported experiencing “constant stress and humiliation” at the hands of the guards, who kept him in a prison van for hours with his hands secured by zip ties.
“You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head,” he told AP. “They forced us to stay on our knees for four hours.”
Deported activists from the flotilla had earlier spoken out about the mistreatment of Thunberg, one of the highest profile members of the mission, in particular, saying she had been “dragged on the ground”, “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”, and “used as propaganda”.
‘Brazen lies’
Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave conflicting responses to the activists’ allegations, with the ministry insisting the stories of ill-treatment were “brazen lies”, while Ben-Gvir said he was “proud” of the detainees’ harsh treatment in Ketziot prison.
“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” he said in a statement.
“If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets – they were mistaken,” said Ben-Gvir, who was filmed taunting the activists as they were brought ashore.
“They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.”
By contrast, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that claims of mistreatment of Thunberg and other flotilla activists were “lies”.
“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” the ministry said in a post on X on Sunday.
“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody. Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they never occurred.”
Israel’s arrests and treatment of the activists led to criticism from countries including Pakistan, Turkiye and Colombia, and street protests around the world, as well as a written protest from Greece.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the country deported a further 29 flotilla activists on Sunday, but many remain in detention in Israel.
Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public broadcaster RTVE that 21 of the 49 Spanish detained flotilla activists were expected to return home on Sunday; while Greece’s Foreign Ministry said 27 Geek citizens were to return from Israel on Monday.
