Israel seeks to extend detention of flotilla activist who allegedly bit medical worker

The employee, who sustained minor injuries, was treated on site, and police were called to handle the incident.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli police said they plan to seek a seven-day extension of detention for a Sumud flotilla activist who bit a medical worker at Ketziot Prison ahead of her scheduled release.

The employee, who sustained minor injuries, was treated on site, and police were called to handle the incident.

The detainee was among hundreds arrested off Gaza’s coast on September 23, when Israeli naval forces intercepted 42 vessels attempting to breach the blockade.

The Global Sumud Flotilla described its mission as an effort to “break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea” and “open a humanitarian corridor.”

Israel said the flotilla was organized in cooperation with Hamas, calling it a provocation disguised as aid.

Over the weekend, Israel deported 137 participants to Turkey and said others would be expelled “as swiftly as possible.”

The Foreign Ministry said while Jerusalem had sought to expedite deportations, some detainees “refused to expedite their departure and insisted on remaining in custody.”

Several governments, it added, have been slow to accept return flights for their citizens.

Israel on Sunday denied reports that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and others arrested in the flotilla were mistreated in custody.

Foreign media had claimed the detainees were held in unsanitary conditions with inadequate food and water.

The Foreign Ministry called those accusations “brazen lies,” stating that “all the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld” at Ketziot Prison.

“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody,” the ministry said, adding that Thunberg “did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations—because they never occurred.”

The Defense Ministry emphasized that the flotilla’s actions, its refusal to cooperate with Israel, Italy, and Greece on aid transfers, and the small amount of cargo aboard showed the activists’ “true goal was provocation in the service of Hamas.”