And now? What happens to the Flotilla activists who were stopped by Israel? After the images of the boarding by the military went around the world, because everything was streamed from the mission itself until the cameras were destroyed, all the worries are for the fate of the activists. Among them there are 29 Italians, including the Five Star Movement parliamentarian Dario Carotenuto. The government, through Foreign Minister Tajani, called for their release and “dignified” treatment.
What happens to the Italians of the Flotilla
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the transfer to Ashdod of the 430 activists on board the Flotilla boats, all seized on the evening of May 19, is underway. A statement from the ministry reads: “All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli ships and are on their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet their consular representatives. This flotilla has once again proven to be nothing more than a propaganda action in the service of Hamas.”
Israel says “all the activists” and therefore also the 29 Italians. Once they are landed in Ashdod, two possibilities open up. The first is immediate expulsion for those who consent (within 24 hours for others), the other is that they are subjected to interrogations or further investigations. The latter hypothesis cannot be ruled out. Following the previous boarding, activists Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila remained in detention for over a week and were only then expelled. The legal team of the NGO Adalah will once again assist the activists.
The Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, initially asked “to urgently verify the use of force by the Israeli authorities” at the time of the arrest. He then asked the Italian ambassador to Israel, Luca Ferrari, to take a formal step to ask that “everyone be assured dignified treatment, full protection and the guarantee of safety”.