'They kidnapped us': Flotilla activist details Israeli attack in international waters

An Argentine activist participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla condemned Israel’s attack on their fleet in international waters, calling it "ridiculous."

A plane carrying activists from the flotilla, who were attacked and detained by Israel in international waters, landed at Istanbul Airport on Saturday afternoon.

The plane, which departed from Ramon Airport in Eilat, Israel, arrived at the airport at 3.50 pm local time (1250 GMT).

As many as 137 people from the humanitarian flotilla, including 36 Turkish and 23 Malaysian citizens, arrived by the flight.

“They kidnapped us in international waters, that is ridiculous, it's terrorism from the state of Israel, against the people of different countries of the world who were pacifically, legally, sailing in international waters,” Nicolas Calabrese, one of the activists, told Anadolu.

Calabrese emphasized that the flotilla carried no weapons and that activists did not hide their faces, while Israeli forces were armed and masked.

He described being taken to a location against their will and subjected to physical abuse. “They carried us to a place that we didn't want to be, and they treated us very badly, like hitting us and pushing us."

“They didn’t let us speak with our partners to know what is happening, to know where are the other partners of other boats,” he added.

Calabrese said he was unable to contact his family for three days. “I have just called my mom, after three days, I mean, 72 hours, my family doesn't know if I was okay, if I was with a huge violation of rights,” Calabrese said.

Despite the experience, he vowed to continue advocating for Palestinians. “But the same thing that they are doing with us, they are doing very worse to the Palestinian people and we will continue fighting,” he said.