By Abdel Ra'ouf Arnaout and Rania Abu Shamala
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – Several activists detained from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were subjected to physical violence in Israeli detention, an Israeli legal center said Thursday.
Israeli naval forces attacked a 9-boat convoy by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) heading to Gaza to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Wednesday and detained around 150 activists aboard.
“Some flotilla participants reported physical abuse, humiliation, and inhuman treatment during and after the interception, including being kicked, slapped, having their hair pulled, or being grabbed aggressively by soldiers,” Adalah Legal Center said in a statement.
“Some were forced into stressful positions, including being made to kneel for hours with their heads down and hands restrained behind their backs, or to sit on their knees for extended periods, in some cases while exposed to the sun.
“Some participants reported being mocked, insulted, and coerced into repeating degrading statements, including declarations of love for Israel or denigration of their own countries,” it added.
Adalah said tribunal hearings are set to be held on Thursday for three activists with Israeli citizenship to appear at a court in Ashkelon.
It said its lawyers are at Ktzi’ot Prison in the Negev, where the activists are held, “to attend hearings, visit participants, and demand access to the remaining five participants” of the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international aid convoy attacked by Israel last week.
Israel, as the occupying power, has previously attacked several Gaza-bound ships, seized their cargo and deported activists on board.
It has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years and tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable. A ceasefire agreement is set to start on Thursday to end two years of Israeli bombardment on the enclave.