The activists were arrested at a port in southern Israel after the Israeli navy intercepted their protest flotilla in international waters on Monday. Their treatment by \u200bpolice officers, under the direction of Israel\u2019s minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, drew an international outcry and a rebuke from Israel\u2019s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed all the activists had been deported. Footage of them arriving in Turkey<\/a> was shared by the Global Sumud Flotilla on social media.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s prison service on Friday denied allegations that some of the activists were subjected to abuse, with several people \u200chospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults.<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis,\u201d an Israeli prison service spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. \u201cAll prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee, who this week committed to bringing the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill<\/a> to Cabinet in the coming weeks, on Friday said Europe cannot continue to defend a rules-based international order while permitting trade with illegal settlements. <\/p>\n At a meeting of the EU\u2019s Foreign Affairs Council on trade issues, she said Ireland joined nine other member states in calling on the European Commission to bring forward proposals to ban trade with illegal settlements. <\/p>\n \u201cIllegal settlements are a breach of international law. Europe\u2019s trade policy must be consistent with its legal and moral obligations,\u201d McEntee said in a statement.<\/p>\n Human rights campaigner Caoimhe Butterly, who was on a vessel monitoring the flotilla, said those involved were \u201cpretty shaken\u201d after arriving in Turkey. Butterly, a psychotherapist, told RT\u00c9 Radio some of the activists were subjected to particularly traumatic experiences, including alleged sexual violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe accounts that we\u2019ve heard range from pretty severe physical violence that resulted in broken bones, concussions, lacerations … psychological violence,\u201d she alleged.<\/p>\n In some instances, she said, the alleged assaults were carried out \u201cin the presence of other participants who were unable to intervene or unable to help because they were handcuffed while being forced to watch the assault of their colleagues in front of them\u201d.<\/p>\n Australian detainees also alleged they and other flotilla members were subjected to abuse after being intercepted. <\/p>\n The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, claimed the detained flotilla members were handled with \u201cgreat sensitivity\u201d. He rejected claims of violence and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cOut of the 400-plus people that were on the flotilla, no one was harmed,\u201d he told Australian TV network ABC.<\/p>\n Irish<\/a> activist Catriona Graham on Thursday night said she and her fellow activists were subjected to violence and psychological torture after being detained by Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cAt various points there was a clear reality anyone could be attacked … We had one person shot with a rubber bullet for crossing a line we had no idea we weren\u2019t meant to cross, so it was very clear they were ready to use violence,\u201d she told RT\u00c9<\/a>\u2019s Prime Time.<\/p>\n A widely circulated video<\/a> showed a detained Graham standing up and chanting \u201cfree, free Palestine\u201d at Ben-Gvir, before being restrained by soldiers and pushed back down by the head to a kneeling position. <\/p>\n She said: \u201cWhen I saw him coming, knowing the horrific crimes he has committed, I could not stay silent. I called \u2018free Palestine\u2019 as loudly as I could and I faced the repercussions.<\/p>\n \u201cI was pulled to the ground, dragged away and brought into isolation and then had about eight commandos discussing in Hebrew what they were going to do to me, so I was preparing myself for anything that could happen next.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not too violent, thankfully, especially compared to what many others have experienced, but it was definitely a very real danger.\u201d<\/p>\n [\u00a0Israeli far-right minister\u2019s Gaza flotilla abuses likely to be a vote-winnerOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Graham said flotilla detainees were strip-searched and \u201ca lot of psychological torture and sleep deprivation tactics\u201d were used.<\/p>\n \u201cThis time on the prison boat, we were stripped of any warm clothing and left without any mattresses … So many different things to try and disrupt us. We know we need to do everything we can … to hold on to our power to make change happen,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n Palestine activist Greta Thunberg on Friday described the video of Ben-Gvir as \u201cbeyond appalling\u201d.<\/p>\n Thunberg, who has participated in previous Gaza aid flotillas, dismissed claims by the Israeli government that the manner of detention was not in line with Israeli values.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are a society built on genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. What treatment would be in line with their values?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Thunberg said the detained activists seen in the video were \u201cstanding up in the face of inaction from their governments\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cInternational law is becoming a graveyard, we know that,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact that they are being treated like this, also in the context of thousands of Palestinian hostages, as we have seen, that\u2019s not a world we want to live in.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Ireland\u2019s progression of the Occupied Territories Bill<\/a>, Thunberg said she viewed this as the \u201cbare minimum\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI welcome the efforts, but I think we need to do more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"Irish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779506532_336_O2DWN2G5KNCKRMFCSR2LA3CG6M.jpg\")
Irish activist Catriona Graham. Photograph: RT\u00c9 Prime Time <\/p>\n
![\"Margaret](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779506533_564_W6PU6MM4AFD3DJHHPMGBKS37XA.JPG\")
Margaret Connolly (left), sister of President Catherine Connolly, was among those detained and deported by Israel. Photograph: Murad Sezer\/Reuters <\/p>\n