JOHANNESBURG — South African activists who were detained when their boats were intercepted while trying to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza alleged Saturday they were beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers in a detention facility.
The Global Sumud Flotilla of 50 vessels was intercepted Monday in international waters some 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of Israel as they sought to breach the blockade and deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The activists said they were held for several days in Israel's K’tziot prison where some said they were shocked with electricity while being interrogated about their participation in the flotilla.
The Israeli government has denied allegations of mistreatment of detained flotilla activists, saying they were “false and entirely without factual basis.” There was no immediate response to the activists' accusations Saturday.
The activists were welcomed by pro-Palestinian supporters and their families as they arrived in South Africa from Turkey on Saturday morning.
They said many of them received harsh treatment, especially when the Israeli soldiers learned they were from South Africa, a country that has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice and accused it of committing genocide in Gaza.
“We were denied access to water for a while. Food they did give us, food that was not suitable for human consumption. We were denied access to toilets for many hours, and the minute we started protesting we were shot at with rubber bullets,” said activist Faizel Moosa.
Moosa, a former anti-apartheid activist during South Africa's liberation struggle against white minority rule, said the treatment they received under detention was the worst he had ever experienced.
“Having experienced detention under the apartheid regime during the struggle, this was far worse. It just goes to show that this is what Palestinians go through on a daily basis,” said Moosa.
Dr. Margaret Connolly, who was among an Irish contingent in the flotilla, said she had never been so frightened as she described dehumanizing conditions in detention.
She said some people were struck with guns. Detainees who had been stripped of their clothes and denied blankets had to huddle together in the cold to prevent hypothermia.
Connolly, the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, was among a group of 15 Irish activists who were greeted by cheering supporters and family members as they arrived home in Dublin on Saturday.
She said Israeli forces didn’t provide enough water or toiletries, and her medical kit was confiscated, preventing her from providing proper medical care. She said bread bags and shirt sleeves used for bandages and slings were later taken away.
“They wanted us to suffer,” Connolly said. “A lot of the soldiers with American accents, shouting down: ‘You should have thought of this before you came.’”
Three Chileans who were detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza to deliver aid also arrived home Saturday, where they criticized the Chilean government for what they described as its inaction in securing their release.
Víctor Chanfreau, Claudio Caiozzi and Carolina Eltit were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla. A large group of supporters greeted the trio at the airport in the capital, Santiago, with Palestinian flags, signs and applause.
“The Chilean government acted terribly, unsurprisingly,” Chanfreau told reporters at the airport, calling the Chilean Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic efforts in their detention “negligent.”
Eltit reported being beaten and held “in precarious conditions, without toilet paper, one bathroom for 190 people, lying in the sun, tied hand and foot.”
Connolly criticized the Irish government for rejecting sanctions against Israel.
Activist Qutb Hendricks called on the South African government to pile pressure on Israel by banning the sale of coal and other supplies to the country.
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Associated Press writers Brian Melley in London and Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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