Activists who were forcibly detained by Israeli forces while sailing to Gaza with humanitarian aid say they’ve been facing abuse and threats from authorities while held in inhumane conditions — but are pleading for the public to stay focused on Israel’s destructive campaign in the walled-off Palestinian territory.
Israeli naval forces intercepted the Madleen in international waters early Monday and detained all 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and European Parliament member Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian. The civilian boat sailed from Italy with the goal of delivering aid to Gaza and creating a maritime humanitarian corridor for the starving enclave to break Israel’s deadly siege.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organized the humanitarian mission, said that Israeli forces told detained activists to sign a document admitting “illegal entry into Israeli territory” in order to be deported back to their home countries. While four of them have since been deported, all of the activists strongly rejected Israel’s claim of unlawful entry.
“I did not recognize that I entered the country illegally,” Thunberg told reporters upon arriving in France on Tuesday, saying the document she signed did not include that requirement. “I made it very clear in my testimonial that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought there against our own will and into Israel.”
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