Israeli security minister tells detained flotilla activists they should be jailed for a long time

JERUSALEM (AP) — Detained activists from a flotilla of boats that tried to get past Israel's blockade of Gaza arrived in the port city of Ashdod aboard Israeli naval ships on Wednesday, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told them that they should remain in prison for a “long, long time.”

Video released by Ben-Gvir showed the minister walking among some of the approximately 430 detained activists flanked by police and soldiers as he waved a large Israeli flag and told them “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords.” One handcuffed activist shown in the video shouting “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir was walking past was immediately pushed to the ground by security personnel.

The video showed activists with their hands tied behind their back kneeling with their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area at Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.

In a second video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” while appealing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them.

“I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu, give them to me for a long, long time, give them to us for the terrorist prisons, that’s what it should look like,” Ben-Gvir said.

An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, accused Israeli authorities of “employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists.”

Adalah said in a statement that this followed similar patterns of ill-treatment by Israeli authorities against activists in previous flotilla missions “for which Israel faced zero accountability.” The group said that its lawyers and other volunteers were providing legal advice to activists at Ashdod and were demanding their immediate release.

“The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials,” the group said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke overnight with Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar, urging that Italian citizens — including a lawmaker and a journalist — be freed quickly and that their safety and rights be safeguarded.

Israel intercepts all remaining flotilla boats

Israeli forces on Tuesday boarded the last of the flotilla boats that tried to challenge the blockade — the latest effort to highlight the grim conditions for nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Flotilla organizers claimed Israeli soldiers fired on five boats during the interdictions, causing some damage. Israel's Foreign Ministry said that no live ammunition was fired and that “nonlethal means” were aimed at the vessels as a warning, but without targeting or injuring protesters.

Israeli forces had begun stopping the flotilla around 167 miles (268 kilometers) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website. The vessels departed last week from Turkey.

Israel has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas” with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a symbolic amount of aid.

On Monday, the Israeli navy stopped 41 boats from the flotilla in international waters off Cyprus and detained those on board.

More than a dozen Irish nationals were aboard the flotilla, including the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has called Israel’s interception of the boats in international waters “absolutely unacceptable.”

Turkey and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have called the interdictions an act of “piracy.” Italy, Spain and Indonesia called on Israel to release activists and ensure their safety.

The U.S. Treasury, however, imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror.”

Gaza's coast blockaded for nearly two decades

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.

Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel has said that the blockade is intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks has killed more than 72,700 people. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn't give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

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Menelaos Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. Areej Hazboun in Jerusalem, and Giada Zampano in Rome, contributed to this report.