Türkiye on Saturday flew in 137 activists detained by Israel after joining an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
The individuals include 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
The Turkish Airlines flight landed sometime after 3:40 p.m. local time (1240 GMT).
More than 450 activists detained
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 in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.
“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”, Tajani wrote on X.
A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Friday.
“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza”, Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.
“We were brutally stopped… brutally taken hostage”, said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.
Zip-tied on their knees 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.
Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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 genocidal war since Oct. 7, killing at least 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
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