Israel Deporting Flotilla Activists    05/21 06:13

   

   TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- Israel has released hundreds of activists who 
attempted to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and are 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 "as soon as possible," after sharply rebuking Israel's 
national security minister 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 "provocative 
flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters," the way National Security Minister 
Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was "not in line with Israel's values 
and norms."

   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 France and Portugal, summoned Israeli envoys on 
Thursday over concerns about the treatment of flotilla activists and in protest 
of Ben-Gvir's actions.

   "The 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," French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. Britain, 
Turkey, Greece, and Italy 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 stopped 
20 vessels from the group on April 30 near the southern Greek island of Crete 
and forced most of its activists to disembark there.

   Israel took two high profile activists -- Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif 
Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Avila -- back to Israel where they were 
interrogated and detained for around a week before being deported.

   The activists accused Israel of torture, claims Israel denies. Brazil and 
Spain condemned Israel for "kidnapping" their citizens.

   Participants then regrouped and more than 50 boats departed from the Turkish 
port of Marmaris on May 14. Israeli forces began stopping the boats around 268 
kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, off the coast of Cyprus, 
according to the flotilla's website.

   Israel has repeatedly blocked similar attempts

   Israel's Foreign Ministry has called the flotilla "a PR stunt at the service 
of Hamas" 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 "pro-terror."

   Last year Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving about 50 
vessels and some 500 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta 
Thunberg, Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela and several European 
lawmakers.

   Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed 
Israeli authorities abused them. 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's 
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's retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the 
war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. 
The ministry, part of Gaza's Hamas-run government, doesn't 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.