Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod on Wednesday, a rights group said, after Israeli forces intercepted their vessels at sea.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while rights group Adalah said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.
“Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will,” Adalah said.
“These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.”
The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the operation as a publicity stunt serving Hamas.
“Another PR flotilla has come to an end. All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are making their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives,” a spokesman from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Tuesday.
“This flotilla has once again proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt at the service of Hamas,” the spokesman added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier denounced the flotilla as “a malicious scheme designed to break the blockade we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza”.
The US on Tuesday sanctioned four people associated with the Global Sumud Flotilla and accused them of being “pro-terrorist”.
