Khaberni - Activists who participated in the Resilience Fleet narrated the details of what they lived through during the Israeli attack on the ships and throughout their detention period.
Starting last Wednesday evening, Israeli authorities seized 42 ships of the Resilience Fleet while they were sailing in international waters towards Gaza and arrested hundreds of international activists onboard.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that about 137 activists detained by Israel for participating in the fleet had arrived in Turkey after being deported.
Activist Iqbal Gürbunar stated that Israel once again showed its weakness before the global public opinion and revealed its true face. She said, "They wanted us to cry, but we did not. Instead, we laughed and chanted songs. They were shocked and said: How can these people stay so happy? They left us hungry. In a room containing 14 people, they would serve one dish of food, almost calorie-free.
She continued, "They didn’t give us clean water. They confiscated all our medications and threw them in the trash right before our eyes. They stole everything from us. The soldiers took our computers, phones, and chargers and put them in their bags. Stealing is part of their nature. They stole the homeland of the Palestinians."
Collapse of Israel's Image in Europe
Activist Zeynep Dilek Tek Ocak said, she did not expect Israel to show this level of madness at a venue where representatives from 72 countries were gathered.
She said, "After we protested the speech of what's called, Minister of Genocide, Itamar Ben-Gvir, they increased the level of violence. We raised banners and did not allow him to speak much, which enraged him.. After that, they started exerting more pressure on us."
Ocak added, "There were activists from 72 countries, including deputies, union leaders, lawyers, and people from various professions. While we were in the cells together, everyone said: When we return to our countries, we will reveal the real face of Israel."
She continued, "Perhaps we in Turkey know their true nature, but in Europe, their image was completely different. Now, whatever was left of Israel's image has collapsed. Israel has brought about its own end."
Activist Osman Çetin Çaya said that he was aboard the main ship in the Resilience Fleet which was the first to be stopped by the Israeli army.
He added, "Israeli soldiers towed the ship to their ports, tied our hands believing they were humiliating us. When we expressed our refusal and resistance, they increased their violence even more. Then they transferred us to a detention camp and from there to prison. They also took our personal belongings and stole them."
He pointed out that they were under constant pressure inside the prison, being continuously moved from one place to another throughout the night.
Part of the Palestinian Suffering
In turn, activist Ayçin Kantar Oğlu said "We did what must be done and returned. We are not afraid of them. They committed acts of extreme moral degradation. In the place where the detained women were kept, they hung a large cloth banner with a picture of Gaza after destruction, writing on it: Welcome to Gaza. This is the epitome of insolence."
She continued, "On the walls, there were writings in blood, mothers who were detained wrote the names of their children. We lived a part of what Palestinians experience daily. They did not provide us with clean water, and told us to drink toilet water, and we remained about 40 hours without food."
Kantar Oğlu affirmed that naked searches were conducted on women saying "Everything was taken off us. At every point, we underwent repeated searches, they even searched our mouths and between our teeth. They tried to treat us like terrorists, but we screamed in their faces that we were not criminals, and they are the ones violating the law and kidnapping people."
On his part, Argentinian activist Gonzalo de Breitoro said that the Israelis treated him harshly, confirming that Israelis acted with great aggression towards the activists.
French activist of Moroccan origin, Yassin Benjalloun, emphasized that activists were denied medications, and water was not provided to them until after 32 hours of their arrest.
Besides the poor treatment, the activists were subjected to torture, such as police dogs and sniper teams raiding the detention rooms, awakening the detainees and preventing them from sleeping again, according to Benjalloun.
On his part, Italian journalist Lorenzo Augustino reported that they were subjected to harsh treatment saying, "They treated us as if we were a terrorist group, kicked people and did not provide them with clean water for more than two days, seizing every opportunity to humiliate us all."
Kuwaiti activist Mohammad Jamal said that about 700 elements of the Israeli special forces participated in their arrest operation, noting that about 20 soldiers seized the boat he was on.
He added, "We remained under the sun for 12 hours from the point of detention until we reached the port of Ashdod. We were treated very badly there. We did not eat any food during this period, and we were only allowed to drink water. We drank water and went to the bathroom. Upon arriving in Ashdod, the police treated us very poorly."
He confirmed that some activists were subjected to beating and insults, indicating that it was evident to them that the Israelis were under international public pressure.
Poor Treatment
US activist Windfield Beaver and Malaysian activist Huzwani Helmi, spoke to Reuters at the airport and reported seeing Swedish activist Greta Thunberg being poorly treated, claiming she was pushed and forced to wear the Israeli flag.
According to the Adalah organization, an Israeli institution that provides legal assistance to fleet members, some could not contact lawyers and were deprived of access to water, medications, and even toilet use.
The organization stated that the activists were also "forced to kneel with their hands tied with plastic strips for at least five hours, after some of them chanted 'Freedom for Palestine'."
Sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry mentioned that among the activists who arrived at Istanbul airport on Saturday were 36 Turkish citizens, along with citizens from the United States, the UAE, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania,
