According to Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Israel has started deporting hundreds of activists detained earlier this week when its forces intercepted an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
The human rights group said most of the approximately 430 detained activists are being taken to Ramon Airport in southern Israel for deportation, with the remainder set to be expelled via Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli forces completed the interception of more than 50 boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla as they were traveling toward Gaza on international waters.
The incident has drawn widespread condemnation. The foreign ministers of 10 countries, including Spain, Brazil and India, criticized the Israeli forces' actions as a 'blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law.'
The situation escalated further when far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video on X on Wednesday showing him insulting activists kneeling on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. Several countries, including France, Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, summoned the Israeli ambassador to express outrage. European Council President Antonio Costa said he was 'appalled' by Ben-Gvir's behavior, calling it 'completely unacceptable.'
Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator for Adalah, said the incident demonstrates 'how the Israeli government wanted to stage a spectacle, and it is an extension of how Israel treats Palestinians, which receives less public condemnation.'
Earlier, Turkey announced it would send charter flights to Israel to repatriate some of its citizens and third-country nationals, including Spaniards. Jordan confirmed that two of its citizens had returned home via a southern border crossing with Israel.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank, said the deportations are happening at an unprecedented speed, aimed at controlling the public relations damage caused by Ben-Gvir's video. Many Palestinians believe the incident has drawn greater international attention because the people mistreated were foreigners.
Among those detained is an Israeli citizen, Zohar Regev, who attended a court hearing in Ashkelon on Thursday on charges of illegal entry into Israel. Ibrahim commented: 'This shows the level of anger and frustration Israel feels about the flotillas that keep breaking its image.'
