Israeli authorities mistreated Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg after she was detained on board a flotilla bound for Gaza, according to activists on board the voyage.
The latest allegations of mistreatment, reported by Reuters on Sunday, followed claims by lawyers that the Global Sumud Flotilla campaigners were subjected to a lack of food, denied medication and denied access to clean water.
Ms Thunberg was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag, activists Hazwani Helmi and Windfield Beaver alleged. "It was a disaster. They treated us like animals," said Malaysian citizen Ms Helmi, 28.
Mr Beaver, 43, a US citizen, said Ms Thunberg was "treated terribly" and "used as propaganda", describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived.
Israel described the allegations as “brazen lies”.
About 137 flotilla activists from more than a dozen countries landed in Turkey on Saturday after spells in Israeli detention. About 450 people were detained after Israel’s navy intercepted the flotilla of about 40 vessels.
Adalah, the legal organisation representing detainees, also accused Israeli authorities of not following proper legal procedure after “200 hearings were held late Thursday night and into Friday morning, without any prior notice to Adalah’s lawyers and without legal defenders for the flotilla participants present”.
It also said detainees were “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted 'Free Palestine,’” Adalah said.
The organisation also condemned Mr Ben-Gvir, who said he "took pride in the fact that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism".
Adalah said his comments "represent a blatant endorsement of inhumane treatment, abuse, and intimidation of the flotilla participants as state policy".
There has been mounting international condemnation, including from Israel’s allies, of the naval interception, which took place in international waters, as well as mounting calls for detainees to be treated properly.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days - along with activists from other nations.
"I have once again given instructions to the Italian embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights", Tajani wrote on X on Saturday.
The flotilla, which set sail in August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian militant group Hamas' deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 which killed about 1,200 people.
At least 70 Palestinians, including two children, were killed in strikes hours after US President Donald Trump ordered Israel to halt bombardment of Gaza following Hamas's positive response to a 20-point plan to end the war, local authorities said on Saturday. At least 67,074 Palestinians have been killed and 169,430 wounded since the Gaza war began.
