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An Israeli human rights organization announced that it documented on Sunday the mistreatment of Global Sumud Flotilla activists through witness testimonies, raising concerns about detention conditions and treatment by Israeli authorities.
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, announced it had compiled witness statements detailing poor treatment of activists who participated in the humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza. The organization said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's praise of the Israel Prison Service reflects state policy of mistreatment and pressure against flotilla participants.
According to witness accounts, detained activists faced conditions that clearly violated their rights under international law. Adalah lawyers shared information during court proceedings indicating that activists were denied medication even for life-threatening illnesses.
The testimonies described inadequate food and water provision, with some activists receiving no food at all. Detainees were held in overcrowded cells under unsanitary conditions, according to the accounts.
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The organization detailed violence against activists by Israeli officials:
"Several participants reported being interrogated by unidentified personnel, while others reported mistreatment and abuse by guards. Authorities applied physical violence to some detainees, with at least one participant injured on their hands. Other participants were kept blindfolded and handcuffed for extended periods. One woman said she was forced to remove her headscarf and given only a shirt as replacement, while others reported restrictions on their ability to pray."
Despite Israeli Foreign Ministry claims that activists' legal rights were protected, Adalah noted severe restrictions on participants' access to legal counsel. The group said 87 flotilla activists still had not been permitted to meet with lawyers, were prevented from phone contact with families, and were not provided information about deportation or flight arrangements.
The documentation follows earlier statements from activists who were evacuated Saturday on a Turkish Airlines flight arranged by Türkiye. Of the 137 activists evacuated, 36 were Turkish nationals.
Upon arriving in Istanbul, activists had described mistreatment by Israeli military, including specific targeting of climate activist Greta Thunberg. The activists claimed that Israeli security military tried to force Thunberg to wrap herself in an Israeli flag and kiss it.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry had previously denied mistreatment allegations despite the evacuated activists' statements and Ben-Gvir's actions and remarks at Ashdod Port and Ketziot Prison.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail to break Israel's blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, approaching Gaza waters on the evening of October 1. Israeli military military attacked the flotilla, illegally seizing dozens of boats and ships and detaining hundreds of passengers.
The Global Sumud Flotilla represents the largest collective flotilla to date attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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