Irish flotilla activists return home after Israeli detention
Irish activists have described being “kidnapped” and “beaten” by Israeli forces after their aid flotilla to Gaza was intercepted in international waters.
Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly, was among the emotional arrivals at Dublin Airport on Saturday.
The GP told reporters her “heart was breaking” thinking of the Palestinian people who were in Israeli detention.
Several participants have described being beaten and made allegations of sexual assault during their detention.
Dr Connolly was among the first wave of detainees following action by Israeli authorities to intercept the flotilla on Monday, with others taken aboard a prison ship in further action.
Detainees were then taken to Israel before being deported to Turkey on Thursday.
She said the care that flotilla participants showed each other got them through the experience.
Dr Connolly said the current “Israeli regime has to be disbanded” as she called for land to be “given back to the Palestinian people”.
Hundreds of people had gathered to welcome them home at Dublin Airport on Friday, singing pro-Palestinian chants and waving flags and banners.
There were cheers and teary-eyed reunions in the terminal as friends and family hugged their loved ones when they walked through the arrival gates.
The Irish detainees were among hundreds of participants from other countries who were also detained when the latest iteration of the Global Sumud Flotilla was stopped by Israeli forces in international waters.
There was international condemnation when, in a video on social media, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was shown walking among some of the detainees and saying they should remain in prison for a long time.
The footage shows some people kneeling on the ground in tightly-packed groups with their hands tied behind their backs.
The detainees, wearing the grey tracksuits issued to them by the Israeli authorities, spoke to the media amid emotional reunions with their families.
Mikey Cullen told reporters he would go again, as he called for an escalation of action against Israel.
He said: “We were tortured within international waters as well – they know no bounds.”
He added: “Everyone should be up in arms about what Israel has done, and should all be vocally and emphatically supporting the Palestinian cause, because their freedom is all of our freedoms.”
Mr Cullen described being placed in ankle-cuffs and having zip-ties around his wrists: “It was horrific, I never heard people scream in such agony.”
He said Mr Ben-Gvir was “parading around” the detainees while people were passing out, adding that the Israeli national anthem had been played on repeat.
A chorus of “Bella ciao” filled the terminal as activists made varying demands about protecting Irish neutrality, calling off a football match between Ireland and Israel, and imposing sanctions on Israel.
Speaking on behalf of the arrivals, Tom Deasy said they had aimed to bring humanitarian aid to starving Gazans and break Israel’s blockade.
He said: “We were taken, kidnapped, and taken to a prison ship. We were split in groups, and the next couple of days were some of the most horrific times I’ve ever experienced, and that I ever would have imagined.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a Palestinian living under a regime that would do such things.
“All of us went through beatings. There was many broken bones. There was all sorts of fractures.”
Mr Deasy said they had no medical assistance apart from the “amazing doctors” among the group, including Dr Connolly.
Louise McCormack said: “Israel believe that if they punish people enough, people will give up. They believe if they punish the Palestinians enough, the Palestinians will give up.
“I think at this stage it has been proven that they will not give up.
“As a country raised on songs and stories of our own occupation, we feel that resistance.
“On Monday morning, travelling across international borders, our boat was taken. We were approached by a rib at high speed with soldiers.
“They pointed guns at us. We looked them in the eye and for no reason other than looking at them without fear, they beat us.”
Ms McCormack said she had her hands tied behind her back and was choked, adding that she had been thrown down and hit her head on the ground with full force.
Ms McCormack described their detention as being on a “torture ship”, saying that multiple portaloos were locked and that people had been denied toilet paper.
She said: “We counted – of the 180 people – 35 fractures, five head wounds including my own, 14 sexual assaults”
Ms McCormack added: “The food that we were given – which we did not eat – was thrown at us on the ground. They soaked our clothes. We slept huddled together with hypothermia.”
Adam Fitzhenry emphasised a call made by all of his fellow participants to: “Remember the people of Gaza, our struggle is nothing in comparison to what they are going through.”
Fra Hughes accused the US, Germany and the UK of being “complicit in genocide” for supporting Israel with arms and overflights.
He said the violence experienced by detainees was “systemic, casual, and organised” in an attempt to discourage others from taking part in flotillas.
He said participants went on hunger strike in solidarity with “people who are being starved in Gaza”, adding that he did not take his diabetes medicine in protest over medical aid not entering the enclave.
Helena Kearns criticised the Irish Government parties of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael for voting not to sanction Israel in a Dail vote during their detention.
Israeli authorities have denied mistreating detainees. The country’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Prison Service have been contacted for further comment.