【By Observer News】

Several days ago, more than 450 members of the international Gaza aid flotilla were arrested and detained by the Israeli military. So far, only less than a third have been released. Greta Thunberg, known as the "Environmental Teenager," is still in detention. Several activists confirmed that she was beaten and mistreated by the Israeli forces. The reports quickly drew global attention.

On October 5th local time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a statement on social media platform X, refuting claims that "Greta Thunberg and other detained members of the flotilla were mistreated by the Israeli military." It insisted that the legal rights of all detained individuals were "fully protected."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also claimed that Greta Thunberg had not been released because she herself refused to be deported.

The statement read, "Interestingly, Greta herself and other detained individuals have refused to expedite the deportation process, instead insisting on extending their stay during detention. For these absurd and baseless accusations, Greta has never filed any complaints with the Israeli authorities, because these things never happened in the first place."

Statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry on X

Despite the Israeli Foreign Ministry's denial of the allegations, the right-wing National Security Minister of Israel, Ben-Gvir, later stated in a statement that he felt "proud" of the harsh treatment the activists received in prison. The Times of Israel reported that the two statements are clearly contradictory.

According to reports, most of those arrested were held in the heavily guarded Ketziot Prison, located in the desert area. This prison has previously been used mainly to detain Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been accused by Israeli authorities of participating in radical or terrorist activities.

Ben-Gvir revealed that he visited Ketziot Prison on Thursday evening and entered the cells of the detained individuals.

"I am proud that we treat them as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and should be treated like a terrorist," he said. "It's worth letting them experience the conditions of Ketziot Prison so they will think twice before approaching Israel next time. That's how it should be."

Ben-Gvir insisted that the international Gaza aid flotilla claimed to carry relief supplies, but in fact did not carry any aid for Gaza.

"I was on their ship, and I didn't see any relief supplies or anything related to humanitarian efforts. I only saw one can of baby formula, and a group of people dressed as human rights activists having a wild party. In reality, they came to support terrorism and wanted to enjoy themselves at our expense," he said.

Image from the video clip of Ben-Gvir inspecting the prison from the UK's "Middle East Eye" website

Turkish activist Mehmet Emin Yıldırım confirmed that Ben-Gvir had inspected the detention location. According to Yıldırım, Ben-Gvir was publicly humiliated by the detained individuals.

A video circulating on social media showed Ben-Gvir pointing to dozens of activists sitting on the ground and saying in Hebrew, "These are terrorists." The activists then shouted, "Free Palestine."

"They told him face-to-face that they were the ones who were terrorists. The real terrorists are those who committed genocide in Gaza. Therefore, Ben-Gvir had to leave, angry and speechless," Yıldırım said.

Released American citizen Winfield Beaver told The Jerusalem Post that when Ben-Gvir came to inspect the prison, Thunberg was forced into a room. He said that Thunberg was treated "extremely badly" and "used as a propaganda tool."

Some other released individuals also complained to international media upon landing in Istanbul, Turkey, that the Israeli military "dragged Thunberg by her hair, forced her to crawl and kiss the Israeli flag" and "forced Thunberg to wrap herself in the Israeli flag and be displayed like a trophy."

Image of Greta Thunberg being arrested by the Israeli military on October 1st

According to a report by The Guardian on April 4th, Swedish foreign ministry officials visited Greta Thunberg who was being held and wrote a letter to her family informing them of her situation.

According to the letter seen by The Guardian, Thunberg said she was kept in a cell full of bedbugs, with insufficient food and water. The Swedish foreign ministry official also revealed that other detainees confirmed they saw Thunberg "being forced to take photos holding the Israeli flag." The letter also mentioned that Thunberg was asked by the Israeli authorities to sign a document, which she refused.

Israeli news site Ynet cited sources saying, "The claim by the flotilla activists that Greta Thunberg was forced to kiss the Israeli flag is wrong. There was no such thing."

The Swedish Foreign Ministry stated that its embassy officials visited nine Swedish citizens who were detained. The statement said, "The embassy emphasized the possibility of swiftly handling the situation and releasing Swedish citizens, and stressed the importance of addressing individual medical needs. Additionally, the embassy emphasized that food and clean water must be provided immediately, and all detainees must be allowed to contact an Israeli lawyer of their choice."

The lawyer of the non-governmental organization "Adala" (meaning "Justice" in Arabic) pointed out that the rights of the detained members have been "systematically violated," as they were deprived of water, hygiene, medicine, and immediate access to legal representation, "which clearly violates their fundamental rights to due process, fair trial, and legal representation."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7557739898443219510/

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