Israel deports five activists from Gaza protest vessel, NGO says

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, 21 people from 12 countries were onboard the Handala—19 activists and two Al Jazeera journalists.

By Natan Galula, JNS

At least five pro-Palestinian activists who tried to breach the Gaza blockade amid the Handala vessel were deported from Israel on Monday, according to Adalah—The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

The five were Jacob Berger (United States), Mohamed El Bakkali (Morocco), Gabriel Cathala (France), Antonio Mazzeo (Italy) and Waad Al Musa (United States-Iraq).

A TikTok video of a person apparently celebrating Iran’s firing of ballistic missiles at Israel last month was attributed on social media to Berger.

Hearings were scheduled to take place at the Detention Review Tribunal in Ramla, southeast of Tel Aviv, later on Monday regarding the continued detention of at least 12 activists who were arrested on board the ship by the Israeli Navy on Saturday night, Adalah said on its website.

It was unclear at press time whether Dr. Frank Romano (United States–France) and Ange Sahuquet (France) would be deported immediately or appear before the tribunal. Adalah’s lawyers were scheduled to meet with them shortly.

The activists scheduled to appear before the tribunal are: Hatem Aouini (Tunisia), Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway), Emma Fourreau (France–Sweden), Justine Kempf (France), Antonio La Picirella (Italy), Chloé Fiona Ludden (United Kingdom–France), Robert Martin (Australia), Braedon Peluso (United States), Tania (Tan) Safi (Australia), Sergio Toribio Sanchez (Spain), Christian Smalls (United States) and Santiago González Vallejo (Spain), according to Adalah.

Adalah’s lawyers met with 17 of the 21 detained activists on Sunday, some at the Ashdod Port and the rest at a police station.

Israel regards the activists as illegal entrants to the country. According to Adalah, authorities presented them with two options: Agree to a “voluntary deportation” or remain in detention and appear before a tribunal to have their continued detention pending deportation reviewed.

Most of the detained launched a hunger strike to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, the Haifa-based organization said.

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an anti-Israel group that organized several protest vessels, including the latest, that failed to reach Gaza, Martin and Safi explained their decision to go on hunger strike in a letter: “As Australians, we refuse to stay silent while our government arms Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians.

“We call on our government to stop trading with Israel. To stop sweeping their war crimes under the rug in the same way your system hid the massacre of Indigenous communities, of the white Australia policy, of the stolen generation, of the deaths in custody, of the imprisonment of Aboriginal children and Torres Strait Islander children,” the pair wrote.

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, 21 people from 12 countries were onboard the Handala—19 activists and two Al Jazeera journalists.

Activists on board included lawyers, journalists and human rights advocates. As Israeli Navy forces approached, participants reported drones circling overhead and subsequently lost communication once the navy took control.

Adalah argued that Israel lacked jurisdiction to detain the activists, “because they had been apprehended in international waters and in violation of international law.”

In June, however, the Detention Review Tribunal rejected this claim in the case of eight activists from the Madleen protest vessel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that attempts to breach the blockade are unlawful and endanger both passengers and ongoing humanitarian operations in Gaza. The blockade of Gaza is legal under international law, and the Gaza maritime zone is an active conflict area, which Hamas terrorists have previously exploited for attacks, including the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, Israel noted.

This incident follows two recent protest “flotilla” attempts that drew international attention. The first involved the “celebrity ship” Madleen, which featured climate activist Greta Thunberg aboard, and was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on June 10.

The second featured the Conscience vessel, disabled on May 2 after sustaining damage of unclear nature near Malta’s coast. Activists aboard the ship accused Israel of carrying out an aerial assault.