Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares assured this Thursday that “everything points” to Israel deporting in the next few hours, via Turkey, the activists detained after the interception of the flotilla heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid. Among those arrested, there would be at least 44 Spaniards, although the Government admits that it still does not have an official final figure.
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In statements to TVE, Albares explained that the Spanish consul in Israel had informed him that the activists were being taken to Ramon airport, in the south of the country, along with the rest of the participants of the international mission. According to him, the plan is for them to be expelled on flights organized by Turkey around three in the afternoon, although he insisted that the deportation “is not yet officially confirmed.”
Shortly after, a spokesperson for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirmed that the Spanish consulate had informed the detainees that they would be deported this very Thursday. The activists had been held since Wednesday in the Israeli prison of Katziot, in the Negev desert.
The Spanish minister wanted to publicly convey his support both to the detainees and their families and emphasized that they have “full diplomatic and consular protection” from Spain. Albares also denounced that the Spanish consul had still not been able to visit the arrested despite having formally requested it.
Madrid toughened its tone against the Israeli Government this Thursday. Albares confirmed that on Wednesday he summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires in Spain, Dana Erlich, to deliver a “note verbale,” the most severe form of diplomatic protest before more extensive measures. At the same time, the Ministry sent another note to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding “the immediate release” of the activists.
The head of Spanish diplomacy maintained that the citizens were “illegally detained in international waters,” where, he said, “no Israeli agent has jurisdiction over Spanish citizens.” Albares directly held the Israeli authorities responsible for “anything that may happen to them” and rejected accusations launched from sectors of the Israeli Government linking the activists to terrorist organizations. “They are peaceful citizens,” he stated, defending that their goal was to demand access to humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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The controversy intensified after the release of several videos recorded at the port of Ashdod by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir. The images show dozens of activists kneeling, handcuffed, and with their faces to the ground while the Israeli anthem plays. Albares described the video as “hateful, inhuman, and monstrous” and reiterated that Ben Gvir, as well as the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, are banned from entering Spain. The Spanish minister added that he will continue to push to extend that ban to the entire European Union.
The international reaction quickly expanded during the day. The European External Action Service described the treatment inflicted on the activists as “completely unacceptable” and reminded that every detained person must be treated “with safety, dignity, and in accordance with international law.” Brussels also called for the “rapid release” of the arrested, including several European citizens.
Various European countries summoned Israeli diplomatic representatives to express their protest. Belgium described the images as “deeply disturbing”; France called them “unacceptable”; while Poland demanded formal apologies and the immediate release of its detained citizens. Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, and Turkey also publicly criticized the Israeli action.
Even within the Israeli Government itself, criticisms arose against Ben Gvir. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s right to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza but assured that the way the activists were treated “does not conform to Israel’s values and norms,” a position later also supported by the Israeli Foreign Minister.
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