TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) 鈥� The Israeli government on Thursday released and deported hundreds of . Outrage abroad over the activists’ treatment prompted several countries to summon Israeli envoys to hear their concerns.
About 420 activists departed Israel on planes bound for Turkey, where they landed Thursday evening in Istanbul. Wearing grey sweatsuits and Arab keffiyehs, they descended stairs to the runway flashing two-fingered salutes and chanting 鈥淔ree Palestine.鈥� Some appeared to be limping.
All of the activists were expected to be taken for a medical checkup, Turkey鈥檚 state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that 鈥渁ll foreign activists鈥� from the flotilla had been deported.
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said one participant who holds Israeli citizenship, Zohar Regev, was released following a court hearing 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 provocative videos 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 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.
Italian detainees describe abuses by Israeli forces
Two Italian citizens who had been detained by Israel returned home Thursday, saying they had been beaten and mistreated 鈥� allegations that were denied by Israeli prison officials
Dario Carotenuto, an Italian lawmaker, said he experienced the 鈥渓ongest seconds鈥� of his life when Israeli forces pointed rifles at activists inside a detention facility.
鈥淭hey kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face,鈥� said Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian newspaper journalist.
The allegations were 鈥渇alse and entirely without factual basis,鈥� said Zivan Freidin, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service.
Dozens of the activists’ boats began setting sail from Spain to Gaza in April. Israel vessels from the group on April 30 near the southern Greek island of Crete and forced most of its activists to disembark.
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 about 268 kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla鈥檚 website.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council that countries are right to be outraged at how flotilla activists from their countries were treated 鈥� but he said what Ben-Gvir did 鈥渋s the tip of the iceberg鈥� of how Israel treats Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has repeatedly blocked similar attempts
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has called the flotilla 鈥渁 PR stunt at the service of Hamas.鈥� 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 some 500 activists.
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.
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. ___ AP journalists Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; Silvia Stellacci in Rome; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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