Gaza flotilla activist blasts Israel over treatment

ISTANBUL

Activists have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force during the interception of the Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters.

Julien Cabral has just completed his first voyage with the “Flotilla for Gaza.” One of his eyes is ringed with purple, he has a wound on his left temple and an injured shoulder blade.

About 10 members of the Israeli forces intercepted them in international waters more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Israeli coast on May 18, he said as he arrived at Istanbul airport on May 21.

Türkiye evacuated 422 people on special flights, including 85 of its own citizens, deployed doctors and ambulances.

“They first jammed communications then boarded in broad daylight with guns and fired plastic bullets just for fun,” said Cabral.

The detainees were taken off the ship on May 20 and taken in cramped prison vans to be locked up near Ashdod, in southern Israel.

Cabral said the handcuffs were “far too tight” and the detainees were bent double for hours on end.

“We couldn’t see anything. They pressed on our necks,” he said.

“And they kept on slapping us, insulting us... People were laughing with them, playing the Israeli national anthem. They were particularly harsh with the Jordanians, the Tunisians.”

Bilal Kıtay, Turkish national from the eastern province of Bingöl held his wife in his arms.

This was his second trip with the “Flotilla for Gaza,” on board a boat with about 10 other activists.

He insisted that their interception by Israeli forces was “much, much more violent than the previous one” in April.

“They attacked us,” he said. “Each of us was beaten, women and men... It’s what Palestinians experience all the time,” he said.

“Unfortunately, they treat their animals better. They alone consider themselves human,” he said. Kitay is also planning to leave on the next convoy.