"I was beaten from the moment we entered the port until the very end, said Saverio Tommasi, an Italian journalist. Blows to my back, blows to my head and they [the Israeli soldiers] laughed, laughed at all of it. Anyone who failed to keep their eyes down was punished with a hit to the head. Israeli forces intercepted all the boats of the Global Sumud flotilla (GSF), carrying more than 400 people including parliamentarians and the environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, last week."
"Most of the people were held at Ketziot, a high-security prison in the Negev desert used primarily to detain Palestinians whom Israel accuses of involvement in terrorist activities. Israel's foreign ministry has dismissed all claims of mistreatment of members of the flotilla as brazen lies, posting on X on Sunday evening: All the detainees' legal rights are fully upheld. The national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has said he was proud of the way staff behaved at Ketziot."
Over 400 international activists, journalists and lawyers attempting to breach Israel's 16-year maritime blockade of Gaza were intercepted and deported. Detainees allege brutal physical and verbal abuse, including beatings, sleep and medication deprivation, rifles pointed at heads, dogs set upon detainees, forced floor sleeping, insults, and being forced to watch footage of Hamas's 7 October attacks. Several detainees reported repeated hits for not looking down. Most detainees were held at Ketziot prison in the Negev. Israel's foreign ministry denied mistreatment and said detainees' legal rights were upheld. National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised staff conduct.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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