Israel is deporting 6 more activists detained on Gaza aid boat, rights group says

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel is deporting six more activists who were detained when it seized an aid boat bound for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, according to the rights group representing them.

The six include Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who Israel had previously barred from entering Israel and the Palestinian territories, citing her support for boycotts of the country.

They were among 12 passengers, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aboard the Madleen, a boat that sought to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid. Israel seized the vessel early Monday and deported Thunberg and three others the following day.

The last two activists are expected to be deported on Friday, according to Adalah, a local human rights group representing them.

It said the activists were subjected to "mistreatment, punitive measures, and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement."

Israeli authorities declined to comment on their treatment. Israel says it treats detainees in a lawful manner and investigates any allegations of abuse.

Israel portrayed the voyage as a media spectacle, dubbing it the "selfie yacht.”

It says the blockade, which it has imposed in various forms along with Egypt since Hamas seized power in 2007, is needed to prevent the militant group from importing arms. Critics view it as collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said those activists who signed deportation documents would be deported immediately while those who refused would be brought before a judicial authority to authorize their deportation in keeping with Israeli law. The activists have protested that they had no intention of entering Israel and were brought there against their will.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the journey, said it was aimed at protesting Israel’s blockade of Gaza and ongoing military campaign there, which experts say has pushed the territory to the brink of famine more than 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war.