Israeli forces accused of threatening and abuse of detained fleet activists

While going to Gaza with humanitarian aid, activists in forced detention say they have been facing abuse and threats from authorities under inhuman conditions – but plead for the public to focus on Israel's destructive movements on the walled Palestinian territory.

Israeli Navy forces intercepted Madeline in international waters earlier Monday and detained including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and European Parliament MP Rima Hassan, including French-Palestinians. The civilian ship sailed from Italy with the aim of providing assistance to Gaza and creating a maritime humanitarian corridor for hungry enclaves to break Israel's deadly siege.

The Free Fleet Alliance (FFC), which organizes a humanitarian mission, said Israeli forces told detained activists to sign a document that acknowledges “illegal entry into Israeli territory” in order to expel it back to its country. Although four of them were deported, all activists strongly rejected Israel's claims of illegal entry.

“I don't recognize that I entered the country illegally,” Dunberg said on arrival in France on Tuesday. The documents she signed did not include the request. “I made it very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped in international waters and went into Israel against our will.”

Activists say authorities are also threatening and abuse. The crew members of the French crew, Dr. Baptiste André, returned from the detention center, recalled the “abuse” of Israeli forces against militants, especially against Thunberg, who later said that any conditions she faced were absolutely nothing compared to the Palestinian experience. ”

“Once she falls asleep, the Immigration Service will come to wake her up,” André said Tuesday. He also claimed that the detainees “have difficulties in accessing water and food” and were unable to access the toilet.

“One official felt that I was beginning to understand what they were doing, and he approached me and said to me, ‘Why are you doing this, why do you smell bad?’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ ‘I told him, ‘You didn’t give us three days off. '”

Adalah, a Palestinian legal group representing activists, said eight Madleen passengers were still in custody as of Wednesday. Of the eight, Hassan said Faiyad said he was threatened by Israeli forces’ refusal to sign deportation documents.

“I heard the officers directly threaten her, 'If you don't sign, I'll smash your head against the wall. We'll fix this.” Dunberg also said that the volunteers “apparently treated in a very inhuman way.”

The FFC said Hassan was first placed in Jiwen prison, and then Israeli troops put her in solitary confinement in Nev Tirza prison because he wrote “Free Palestine” on the wall. She lived in isolation in a “small, windowless cell with extremely poor sanitation and was denied access to the prison yard.” She was moved back to Jiwan on Wednesday.

Members of the European Parliament are not the only passengers allegedly isolated. Brazilian activist Thiago Avila was imprisoned in isolation after hunger and longing to strike. According to his wife Lara, Israeli forces blocked efforts by the embassy and Avila's lawyers to talk to their families.

“He told [his lawyer] He was threatened by Israeli forces and they said he would not be in contact with anyone (even a lawyer) and he would be there alone, without any ventilation, without ventilation, and you know that was psychological torture,” Lara Avila said in a recording on Wednesday.

A ruling from the Israeli Detention Review Tribunal upheld the decision to detain the remaining eight volunteers and plans to hold the next court hearing on July 8 if militants are not deported before that. Adalah said the ruling “violates international law and the rights of activists and can last more than a month of legal cover for arbitrary detention.”

“Under international law, the detention of the remaining eight fleet members is arbitrary and illegal and must be terminated and corrected immediately.” Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur of the United Nations, released Wednesday on Wednesday.

Many of the spoken crew members believe that the public should pay less attention to their situation and more attention to them and many in the international community, now calling Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Israeli forces continued to drop bombs on Palestinians and any life-sustaining infrastructure, while allowing minimal aid to enter the territory through a military distribution system, which led soldiers to shoot at hungry people for food.

“Please keep an eye on Gaza. People are hungry, children are hungry. The whole family survives without clean water, without food, without drugs – this happened on our watch.” Yasemin Acar, a detained activist, said in a message her brother read. “By vision, keeping silent, we are complicit. One thing, looking at the sight becomes a crime, we are there now.”

“Providing aid is not a crime. It is against our will in international waters.” “But our kidnapping is meaningless compared to what happened in Gaza. Keep focusing on the real issue.”