[Opinion. They were faking that limping and those black eyes, right? /s What gets me is is Crete is part of Greece. Why did Greece not refuse docking? I presume the matching sweatsuits and keffiyehs were kindly provided by the Israelis. And what happened to the boats? Yep, for sure, all these leftie pinkos made this all up. /s Oh, wait, there’s a video! So Bibi is going to sack him and ban his Otzma Yehudit party, right?]

Israel deports foreign Gaza-bound flotilla activists after global outcry

Move comes amid condemnation of Itamar Ben-Gvir after video posted showing detained protesters being taunted

Peter Beaumont

The Guardian: 21 May 2026

Israel has said it has deported all the foreign activists it seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, after a global outcry over their treatment in custody that led the UK to join other countries in summoning Israeli diplomats for a formal dressing down.

More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The UK has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires, and Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Thursday he had asked the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, to discuss sanctions on Ben-Gvir, “for the unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla, seizing the activists in international waters and subjecting them to harassment and humiliation, in violation of the most basic human rights”.

Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist: “They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he said of his treatment by Israeli security forces. Another Italian activist, Dario Carotenuto, a lawmaker from the Five Star Movement, said he had been punched in the eye and kicked while detained.

Miriam Azem, from the Israeli rights group Adalah, said: “One of the activists was forced to strip naked and run while guards were laughing.” She added that Israeli authorities had fired rubber bullets that hurt some activists as they intercepted the flotilla.

Poland’s foreign ministry said it was calling for a ban on Ben-Gvir entering the country over the video showing the far-right minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.

Britain’s Foreign Office issued a statement denouncing the treatment of the arrested activists.

“This behaviour violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people. We are also deeply concerned by the detention conditions depicted and have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities. We made clear their obligations to protect the rights of all those involved,” it said.

Human rights groups have documented widespread, systemic torture and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention centres during Israel’s war in Gaza, prompted by the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023.

But the humiliating treatment of the Gaza flotilla activists has drawn unusually strong international condemnation of Israel, reflecting growing frustration with the country’s policies in Gaza, Lebanon and in its joint war with the US against Iran.

Greece on Thursday also called on Israel immediately to release its nationals, the government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said.

Despite Netanyahu’s comments, Israel has a history of intercepting vessels at sea trying to reach Gaza, including with lethal force. In 2010, nine activists on the MV Mari Marmara were killed when Israeli commandos stormed the ship. A 10th person later died of their wounds.

On Wednesday Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, criticised Ben-Gvir over the treatment of the activists, saying he had harmed Israel in a “disgraceful display” and undermined the work of Israeli soldiers and diplomats.

“No, you are not the face of Israel,” Saar wrote on X.

The US’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee – usually an uncritical supporter of Israel – also made a rare criticism of Ben-Gvir, saying that while the flotilla was a “stupid stunt”, Ben-Gvir had “betrayed the dignity” of Israel.

Ben-Gvir was appointed security minister by Netanyahu despite a number of convictions, including for incitement to racism and support for a proscribed Jewish terrorist organisation.

There's already thread about this story

20 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

[Opinion. They were faking that limping and those black eyes, right? /s

She made a miraculous recovery

Pretends to be injured coming from Israel in Turkey . 12 hours later all healed in Spain.

It's unlikely ben-Gvir will have such a speedy recovery!

5 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

It's unlikely ben-Gvir will have such a speedy recovery!

Do you agree that the activist was faking her injuries ?