Greek Waters (QNN)- Pro-Palestine activists abducted by Israeli forces after boarding and intercepting the Gaza-bound aid vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla said they were “brutalized” and subjected to nearly 40 hours of “calculated cruelty” aboard an Israeli navy vessel in Greek waters.
“They were denied adequate food and water. They were forced to sleep on floors that were deliberately and repeatedly flooded,” the flotilla organizers said in a statement.
“When the military moved to abduct two participants, our crew peacefully resisted and the response was sheer violence. Participants were punched, kicked, and dragged across the deck with their hands bound behind their backs. They suffered broken noses, cracked ribs and bloody beatings. Shots were even fired at them in the chaos.”
“Greek police are now trapping our battered crew on buses, denying them the freedom to leave while Saif and Thiago have been abducted and taken to Occupied Palestine.”
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60 participants have immediately launched a hunger strike, the flotilla added.
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Organizers said Israel intercepted 22 of 58 vessels that were bound for Gaza late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece’s Peloponnese Peninsula, hundreds of miles from the Palestinian coastline.
They confirmed that 211 people were abducted, and Israel said it would transport detainees to Greece.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Israel of “once again violating international law by attacking a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it”, urging the European Union to freeze bilateral ties.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said various vessels were also “systematically disabled” after being raided, leaving activists stranded at sea.
“After smashing engines and destroying navigation arrays, the military retreated - intentionally leaving hundreds of civilians stranded on powerless, broken vessels directly in the path of a massive approaching storm,” it said.
"Furthermore, communications with multiple vessels have been jammed, severing their ability to coordinate or signal for help.”
The seizure of the boats took place about 600 nautical miles from Gaza’s shores, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.
Shortly before the raid, activists said they were approached by military speedboats identifying themselves as Israeli. Soldiers reportedly pointed lasers and semi-automatic weapons at those on board, ordering them to get on their hands and knees. They added that boat communications were being jammed.
An estimated 58 vessels carrying around 1,000 activists set out from Spain earlier this month, aiming to break the Israeli-imposed siege of the Gaza Strip while delivering humanitarian aid. It was described as the “largest coordinated civilian maritime mobilisation” by the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of the detained activists.
“The crew of the intercepted vessels must be immediately and unconditionally released,” it said in a statement shared on social media.
“While in custody, the Israeli authorities must ensure that all activists are immediately granted access to consular support, treated humanely and protected from torture and other ill-treatment.”
On Friday, all but two pro-Palestinian activists detained by Israeli forces in international waters have now been released in Greece.
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Israel's Foreign Ministry claimed that one of the men, Saif Abu Keshek, was "suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization" and the other, Thiago Ávila, was "suspected of illegal activity". Both men remain in Israeli custody.
The Global Sumud Flotilla called for the immediate release of Abu Keshek and Ávila. The group said: "We demand that all governments do all they can to pressure the Israeli regime to release all the illegal abductees."
It confirmed that all other members of the captured flotilla boats had been released on the Greek island of Crete.
The group - men and women of various nationalities, including some Greeks and Australians - is being transported by naval vessel to the southern coast of Crete, where they are expected to arrive at Atherinolakkos. Buses are waiting to take them onward.
According to sources who spoke to the BBC, their final destination is Heraklion, where they are expected to be temporarily accommodated before arrangements are made for their return to their home countries.
In a statement on Friday, the flotilla confirmed that following the "illegal, piratical operation in which hundreds of members of the Global Sumud Flotilla were seized by the israeli occupation forces within a Greek search and rescue zone west of Crete and south of the Peloponnese, the Greek government cooperated with the genocidal state to disembark the abducted individuals at a port in Crete."
It added that Israel has officially acknowledged that two of those detained, Ávila and Abukesek, "are being unlawfully transferred to Occupied Palestine against their will."
"The Greek government is enabling an international operation of abduction of citizens from third countries and is consenting to blatant violations of international humanitarian law and the law of the sea."
It added, "The Greek government is acting without restraint, positioning the country as the most privileged ally of a genocidal state. At a time when israel is facing widespread international delegitimization, Greece is disgraced and risks becoming a pariah state in the international community."
