Israel Denies Mistreatment Allegations Against Gaza Flotilla Activists

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg arrived in Greece on Monday to a cheering pro-Palestinian crowd after she and hundreds of fellow activists detained by Israel at sea were deported following their attempt to deliver aid to Gaza.

Israel announced on Monday that it had deported 171 activists, including Thunberg, raising the total number expelled to 341 out of the 479 people detained when it intercepted the flotilla trying to breach its naval blockade of Gaza.

The goal of the flotilla was to "break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people."

Greta Thunberg Accuses Israel of Violating International Maritime and Humanitarian Law

“That this mission has to exist, it’s a shame! It is a shame!” Thunberg said shortly after arriving.

"Let me be very clear. There is a genocide going on," she told the crowd at Athens airport, referring to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Thunberg called on world leaders and citizens alike to end their “complicity” in what she described as the “genocide” being perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza.

"Our international systems are betraying Palestinians. They are not even able to prevent the worst war crimes from happening," she said. "What we aimed to do with the Global Sumud Flotilla was to step up when our governments failed to do their legal obligation."

After she arrived in Athens, Thunberg said she could "talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story."

"What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved," she added.

Thunberg Was Beaten and Humiliated in Israeli Detention, Gaza Flotilla Activists Say

Several international activists deported from Israel after taking part in a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Two of them — Malaysian national Hazwani Helmi and American citizen Windfield Beaver — told Reuters at the airport that they witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was pushed and forced to wear an Israeli flag.

"It was a disaster. They treated us like animals," said Helmi, adding that detainees were denied clean food and water, and had their medication and personal belongings confiscated.

Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was “treated horribly” and “used as propaganda,” recounting how she was shoved into a room as Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.

Turkish activist Ersin Celik, who accompanied Thunberg, told reporters that Israeli forces "dragged her on the ground, by her hair, just as the Nazis did."

Celik added that Israeli forces later placed her in a small cell infested with bedbugs, where she was subjected to humiliation and abuse and was forced to kiss the Israeli flag.

A Swedish activist also confirmed that Thunberg was detained under harsh conditions, noting that they were given very limited access to food and water.

While Lorenzo Agostino, an Italian journalist who was part of the flotilla, also spoke about Thunberg’s treatment. “Greta Thunberg, a brave woman, is only 22 years old. She was humiliated and wrapped in an Israeli flag and exhibited like a trophy,” he told Anadolu News Agency.

Moreover, Greta Thunberg informed Swedish officials that she was facing harsh treatment while in Israeli custody following her detention, according to correspondence obtained by The Guardian.

An email from the Swedish Foreign Ministry, reviewed by The Guardian, said an embassy official who met Thunberg in custody found her held in a bedbug-infested cell with limited food and water. The message added that she developed rashes and suspected her image had been used for propaganda photographs.

Accounts of Severe Detention Conditions

International activists, journalists, and lawyers deported from Israel after trying to break Gaza’s blockade have accused Israeli forces of subjecting them to severe physical and verbal abuse during detention.

The reported abuses included sleep and medication deprivation, physical assaults, the use of attack dogs, guns being aimed at their heads, being forced to sleep on the floor, verbal abuse, and being made to watch footage of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

Spanish activists likewise reported being mistreated upon their arrival in Spain late Sunday following their deportation.

"They beat us, dragged us along the ground, blindfolded us, tied our hands and feet, put us in cages and insulted us," lawyer Rafael Borrego said at Madrid's airport.

Others recounted severe abuse. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. They didn’t give us water; we had to drink from the toilet … It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting.” She said the ordeal gave her “a better understanding of Gaza.”

Turkish activist Aycin Kantoglu described seeing prison walls stained with blood and covered in messages left by former detainees. “We saw mothers writing their children’s names on the walls. We actually experienced a little bit of what Palestinians go through,” she said. 

British journalist Kieran Andrieu of Novara Media reported that detainees were denied medical assistance and served contaminated food. “We shouted for help when someone was having a heart attack — no one came,” he said.

Spanish activist and lawyer Rafael Borrego told Reuters “At any time that any of us called a police officer, we risked that seven or more fully armed people entered to our cell, as they did on mine, pointing us with weapons at our heads, with dogs ready to attack us, and being dragged to the floor. This happened on a daily basis.”

Ada Colau, the left wing former mayor of Barcelona , said that when “we asked for a doctor, we were told that that was for humans.”

Colau added that there had been "mistreatment, but that was nothing compared to what the Palestinian people suffer every day.”

Pacetta, who has a broken leg, said Israeli authorities confiscated all her belongings and forced her to undress in front of a man. “They took all my meds … my inhalers and my nebulizer. They eventually gave the nebulizer back but threw the medicine for it away. They took my glasses off me and my hearing aids. They ripped my necklace off my neck and my watch. They took everything. They took my T-shirt off me, they stripped me and opened the door and there’s a guy standing staring in.” She told a crowd that had gathered at the station to welcome her.

Another activist, Paolo De Montis, said he endured “constant stress and humiliation” from the guards, who kept him confined in a prison van for hours with his hands bound by zip ties.

“You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head,” he told AP. 

Moreover, North African detainees told the AP they were treated more harshly than their European counterparts. “When I showed my Belgian passport their behavior towards me changed completely,” said Houssem Eddine Rmedi, a dual Tunisian-Belgian citizen.

Others said they weren’t so lucky. “The moment you show your Tunisian, Algerian or Moroccan passport, they start beating you,” said Moroccan activist Ayoub Habraoui, who added that he and others were forced to kneel under the sun for almost six hours.

Adalah, an Israeli rights group providing legal aid, stated that detainees reported being forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for hours, denied access to medication, and prevented from contacting lawyers. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations as “complete lies,” asserting that all detainees were treated in accordance with the law.

“All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters.

‘Brazen Lies’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued conflicting statements regarding the activists’ claims. The ministry dismissed the allegations of mistreatment as “brazen lies,” while Ben-Gvir declared he was “proud” of the harsh treatment the detainees received at Ketziot prison.

“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

“If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets — they were mistaken. They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again,”hHe added.

In contrast, Israeli officials once again described widespread reports of detainees being mistreated after the flotilla was intercepted as "brazen lies."

“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” the ministry said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody. Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they never occurred,” the ministry added.

Israel, which denies committing genocide in Gaza and claims reports of widespread hunger are overstated, dismissed the flotilla as a publicity stunt serving Hamas. 

Israel’s Foreign Ministry released a statement, along with photos of Thunberg at the airport, asserting that all participants’ legal rights were respected and that the only incident of violence involved an activist biting a female medic at Israel’s Ketziot prison.

“All the legal rights of the participants in this PR stunt were and will continue to be fully upheld. The lies they are spreading are part of their pre-planned fake news campaign,” the ministry stated.

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