Israel Deports Hundreds Of Gaza Flotilla Activists To Turkey After International Backlash

Israel deported hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists after Israeli forces released and deported the detainees following international backlash, with about 420 activists departing Israel on planes bound for Turkey and landing Thursday evening in Istanbul.

The AP reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry said “all foreign activists” from the flotilla had been deported, while the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said one participant holding Israeli citizenship, Zohar Regev, was released after a court hearing on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay.

Al Jazeera

The BBC described the backdrop as a video posted by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing him taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs, and it said the deportations followed international backlash over the treatment depicted.

In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Ankara evacuated 422 people on chartered flights, including 85 of its own citizens, and that the French Foreign Ministry said the group included 37 French nationals, as dozens of participants arrived at Istanbul airport throughout Thursday.

The Guardian added that Israel said it had deported all the foreign activists it seized from the Global Sumud flotilla, and it said eleven Australians detained by Israeli forces were transferred by bus to Ramon airport in southern Israel before departure by charter flight to Istanbul.

Across the diplomatic fallout, the BBC said the UK confirmed it had summoned Israel's top diplomat in Britain, charge d'affaires Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, and quoted the UK Foreign Office saying the move reflected the UK's “strong condemnation of [Ben Gvir's] conduct in taunting those involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla”.

In the same account, the BBC reported that Poland summoned Israel's Chargé d'Affaires in Warsaw and that Poland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote he wished to express “outrage” at the treatment of its citizens and “demand an apology for the utterly inappropriate behavior of a member of the Israeli government”.

Al Jazeera

The Guardian focused on the personal impact on families, quoting Joanne Jaworowski, Schofield’s mother, saying she was relieved about her son’s release but “had not received any information about his welfare,” and she added “My heart will not be calm until I have heard directly from Zack that he is safe and unharmed.”

Al Jazeera, meanwhile, quoted a participant’s account of custody, with Julien Cabral telling AFP that he heard “Let’s have some fun,” and it said he described activists being slapped, verbally abused and forced to beg for food, water and sanitary products at every step of the detainment process.

The Guardian also quoted Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, saying “No one out of the 400-plus people that were on the flotilla – no one was harmed,” while it reported that the video of Ben-Gvir heckling bound activists drew condemnation in Australia and around the world.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein told Al Jazeera that “all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported,” and he said Israel “will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” framing the deportations as enforcement of the blockade.

The BBC reported that the UK said it was “deeply concerned by the detention conditions depicted and have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities,” while it also said Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani asked the EU to consider placing sanctions on Ben-Gvir for “unacceptable acts” of “seizing the activists in international waters and subjecting them to harassment and humiliation”.

Al-Monitor carried a direct account from Belgian activist Julien Cabral, who said “They first jammed communications then boarded in broad daylight with guns and fired plastic bullets just for fun,” and he described being punched and transferred into containers with detainees’ hands bound with plastic ties.

In the same Al-Monitor report, Cabral said “Absolutely. We’re going to carry on,” and he added he intended to leave again on the next flotilla, while it also quoted Turkish national Bilal Kitay saying “Unfortunately, they treat their animals better.”

Looking beyond the immediate deportations, AP reported that Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007 and that it 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.