Israel’s Foreign Ministry mocked the activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, alleging that injuries were “staged” for the cameras as an activist pictured in a neck brace displayed a “marvellous recovery," when returning home without it. This comes as many activists have returned to their home countries after being detained and deported from Israeli custody. Multiple activists accused Israeli forces of abuse, torture, sexual violence and rape whilst they were held in detention.
The provocative posts incited a rebuttal from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, which said activist Nesrin Zeaiter had "experienced a concussion and over 40 bruises" in custody, " and that a neck brace is "standard precautionary protocol for suspected cervical injury."
Despite these posts mocking the activists, Israel's foreign ministry has not directly addressed the wider allegations of abuse against its forces, apart from an Israeli prison spokesperson teling Reuters that the "allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis."
The flotilla and the treatment of the activists onboard have been at the centre of a media storm since last week, when far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video online, of himself taunting the activists as they were detained by Israeli police. It included a clip of himself waving an Israeli flag over the participants as they lay hunched over on the ground, their hands bound with zip-ties. The sharing of this video triggered immediate backlash from several countries whose citizens were onboard the ship, as well as France becoming the latest country to ban Ben-Gvir from entry.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry account also reposted a video to sarcastically strike back at Spain, which has been vocal about its support for the flotilla activists and its condemnation of Israel's war in Gaza. Online, it shared a video of recent clashes between activists and police in Bilbao airport, saying it "demanded an explanation" from Madrid about its treatment against the "flotilla anarchists."
Images from Spanish state broadcaster TVE show scuffles began when a relative of one of the six activists tried to approach them, and was then forcefully stopped by a police officer. In another post, Israel declared "hypocrisy" from Spain for its treatment of the activists in Bilbao, after Madrid condemned Israel's "lawful actions" against the same flotilla activists.
Vedika Bahl goes through what we know in Truth or Fake.
