Gaza flotilla activists arrive in Turkey after ‘Israel’ deportation

‘Israel’ said on Thursday it had deported all the foreign activists seized by its forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, as the first group arrived in Turkey following global outcry over their treatment in custody.

Hundreds of activists from countries around the world were placed in detention in ‘Israel’ after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Turkish foreign ministry sources said 422 activists, among them 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern ‘Israel’ on three planes chartered by Ankara.

A first group of arrivals were seen inside the VIP terminal at Istanbul airport, as a crowd of supporters carrying Palestinian flags gathered to welcome them.

‘Israel's’ far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and diplomatic backlash on Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.

‘Israel's’ foreign ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said on Thursday that "all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel".

"Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza," he added.

Upon arrival at Istanbul airport, one of the activists shouted "the Palestinian people are not alone!" as he emerged from the terminal.

"We've been tortured, we've been beaten, we've been arrested in international waters, but we won't give up. We will return. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea," he said to cheers from the crowd.

The legal centre representing the flotilla members said earlier on Thursday that the majority were "en route for deportation" from Ramon Airport in ‘Israel's’ far south.

Adalah said they had been held at Israel's Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.

“Inflammatory video”

Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach ‘Israel's’ blockade of Gaza, after ‘Israeli’ forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.

The deportations come after footage posted by Ben Gvir, captioned "Welcome to Israel" and showing the minister heckling and waving an ‘Israeli’ flag among the detained activists, sparked resounding condemnation by governments around the world, from Italy to Spain and Australia to Canada.

He was also criticised at home by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, as well as by US ambassador to ‘Israel’ Mike Huckabee.

Italy and Spain have called on the European Union to sanction Ben Gvir, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling the treatment of the activists "unacceptable".

In Ireland, a leaked letter revealed Prime Minister Micheal Martin urging the EU chief for "further action" against ‘Israel’ over their treatment, including a ban on settlement goods and suspension "of parts if not all" of the EU's Association Agreement with ‘Israel’.

The United Kingdom announced it had summoned ‘Israel's’ most senior diplomat in Britain following "the inflammatory video".

“They kicked us”

Adalah's legal director Suhad Bishara told AFP on Wednesday that the group's lawyers had given legal counsel to "many" of the activists, though she added others had faced court hearings without legal assistance.

"We know of at least two participants who were hospitalised... both of them were shot by rubber bullets," Bishara said, adding that others said they feared they had broken ribs.

Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist detained with the flotilla activists and deported before the others, told reporters in Italy on Thursday that he and others were "taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens".

"They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted 'Welcome to Israel'," he said of his treatment by ‘Israeli’ security forces.

‘Israel’ controls all entry points into Gaza, under blockade since 2007.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with ‘Israel’ at times halting aid deliveries entirely.