The Israeli government on Thursday released and deported hundreds of flotilla activists who attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Outrage abroad over the activists’ treatment prompted several countries to summon Israeli envoys to hear their concerns.
About 420 activists departed Israel on planes bound for Turkey, where they landed Thursday evening in Istanbul. Wearing grey sweatsuits and Arab keffiyehs, they descended stairs to the runway flashing two-fingered salutes and chanting “Free Palestine.” Some appeared to be limping.
All of the activists were expected to be taken for a medical checkup, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “all foreign activists” from the flotilla had been deported.
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said one participant who holds Israeli citizenship, Zohar Regev, was released following a court hearing on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay. Regev has taken part in previous flotillas to Gaza.
