Israel is facing mounting criticism after an Israeli rights group said Gaza-bound flotilla activists detained this week were subjected to a “new pattern” of deliberate physical abuse, including extreme violence and sexual humiliation, by Israeli forces. The report, based on hundreds of testimonies, was first published by Nir Hasson in the Israeli daily Haaretz on May 21.
According to Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, many of the international activists seized while trying to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza reported severe beatings, degrading treatment and sexual humiliation while in Israeli custody. Lawyers from Adalah and volunteers met hundreds of detainees at Ashdod port, gathering accounts that the group says point to a systematic pattern of intentional physical abuse by Israeli authorities.
Adalah said at least three detainees required hospitalization for injuries allegedly caused by Israeli forces, while dozens more showed suspected rib fractures and reported difficulty breathing. In addition to violence during the takeover of the flotilla boats and transfer to shore, activists said they were forced to walk bent over and remain kneeling for prolonged periods.
The detainees were later moved from Ashdod to Ketziot prison in southern Israel, where deportation hearings were expected to begin on Thursday. The flotilla, which Israel describes as a provocation aimed at undermining its Gaza blockade, involved around 430 activists, many of them foreign nationals.
The allegations came as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published videos from the detention site, further inflaming the controversy. In footage shared on X, activists are seen with hands bound behind their backs, kneeling with their heads pressed to the floor in what appears to be a makeshift holding area, including on the deck of a ship.
Waving a large Israeli flag, Ben-Gvir is heard telling the detainees, “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” while one activist calling “Free Palestine” is pushed to the ground by security personnel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rebuked his far-right minister, saying that although Israel had the right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” Ben-Gvir’s conduct “was not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
The images and testimonies triggered sharp reactions from abroad. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the video “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity” and demanded explanations from Israel.
Italy described the treatment of the detained activists as a violation of human dignity, called Ben-Gvir’s videos “unacceptable,” and summoned Israel’s ambassador in Rome while demanding the immediate release of Italian nationals. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand likewise ordered the Israeli ambassador in Ottawa to be summoned over the affair.
Turkey and Greece also condemned Israel’s actions, with Ankara saying the behavior “openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mindset” of the Israeli government, and Athens calling Ben-Gvir’s conduct “unacceptable and entirely condemnable” and lodging a formal protest. The Palestinian group Hamas said the scenes of “abuse and humiliation” reflected Israel’s “moral decadence and sadism.”
Photo: Haaretz