Turkey says 137 Gaza flotilla activists to arrive in Istanbul
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
People gathering on a boat from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza until it was intercepted by Israel.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
ANKARA – Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza are being flown to Istanbul, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on Oct 4.
The individuals include 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, ministry sources added.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled next week, along with activists from other nations.
Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted all of about 40 boats
“I have once again given instructions to the Italian embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights,” Mr Tajani wrote on X.
A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Oct 3.
“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,” Mr Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, said during a news conference in Rome.
“We were brutally stopped… brutally taken hostage”, said Ms Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.
Zip-tied for hours
Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were “safe and in good health”, adding it was keen to complete the deportations “as quickly as possible”.
According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some of them were denied access to lawyers and denied access to water and medications, as well as the use of toilets.
Activists were also “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted ‘Free Palestine’,” Adalah said.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in October 2023
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a “lawful naval blockade”. REUTERS
