CAIRO: The majority activists on the aid flotilla that was attacked by the IDF in international waters Monday and detained by Israel since have been deported back to their countries.
The released activists spoke of mistreatment during the raid as well as later while in Israeli detention. Many said they were beaten, and one activist said that IDF troops had pointed a gun at a one-year-old baby’s head to force one of the ship’s captains to stop sailing.
The Guardian carried quotes from some of the activists in which they stated that they were kept without food, water or sleep and they were handcuffed and subjected to “humiliating” treatment. One activist claimed that Israeli authorities had tried to make the activists sign documents that they had entered Israel illegally.
The Freedom Flotilla as it was called consisted of six ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. In the early hours of Monday morning IDF troops raided the ships in international waters and at least 10 activists were killed. The ships were then seized and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
The activists disputed Israeli claims that they had attacked the IDF soldiers first, and stated that the IDF troops came on board and started shooting.
Israel stated that the majority of the 700 activists would be released by Wednesday. It was believed that Israel was considering referring some of the activists to Israeli prosecution.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton released a declaration on behalf of the union in which she said, “The EU deeply regrets the loss of life during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the Flotilla sailing to Gaza and offers its condolences to the families of the victims.”
“The EU condemns the use of violence that has produced a high number of victims among the members of the flotilla and demands an immediate, full and impartial inquiry into the events and the circumstances surrounding them,” she added.
Oxfam released a statement Wednesday that stated that Monday’s tragedy was a “direct result of the blockade on Gaza.” Its Executive Director Jeremy Hobbs said, “We are shocked at the appalling use of violence and the killing of civilians which occurred when the Israeli forces took over the Gaza Flotilla in international waters.”
Hobbs blamed the reticence of the international community to put pressure on Israel for the continued blockade of Gaza and the resulting tragedy aboard the flotilla.
“Tragedy struck as the international community failed to put enough pressure on Israel to put an end to the crippling policy of blockade,” he said, “This flotilla would not have been needed, had the Israeli blockade not debilitated Gaza’s economy and prevented desperately needed humanitarian supplies from entering the territory.”
Hobbs continued, “The Israeli operation appears to have violated a number of basic rules of international law. This comes on top of the blockade that inflicts collective punishment on the population, which is illegal under international humanitarian law.”
Gaza has been under a complete siege since mid-2007 when Hamas took control of the territory. Along with the Israeli blockade Egypt also keeps the Rafah border crossing closed, opening it intermittently for urgent humanitarian cases.
