Ruptly
"Dozens of people gathered at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport on Saturday to welcome Spanish activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla, who were detained by Israel en route to Gaza with a humanitarian mission. Footage shows a welcoming group of people chanting slogans, waving Palestinian flags, and holding signs that say 'Global Sumud Flotilla: Thank you!' and 'Global Response to Colonial Zionism' upon the arrival of the activists. Officials such as the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, and European Parliament Member Irene Montero also joined the crowd to express their support. In their statements, the activists accused the Israeli authorities of continuing to use torture, beatings, and assaults against detainees. "They took us to a prison ship where they held us for three days; they were breaking bones there, sexually abusing the kidnapped women, and attacking people with tasers. They were denying us water and basic hygiene. There was constant physical and psychological torture," Flotilla spokesperson Sandra Garrido stated. "We suffered several beatings, and even so, I was lucky. There were people who had it much worse. They were shot with taser guns, hit with rifles, and, well, they had their ribs broken. One person is hospitalised and having their lungs drained in Turkey,” Flotilla member Tomas Alberto Morate added. The activists called for the international pressure to 'stop an extermination, an ethnic cleansing' of Palestinian people. "We do this precisely because the rest of the world watches and does nothing. And that also includes the Spanish government. We maintain commercial relations with Israel; we maintain academic relations with Israel; we maintain cultural relations," Flotilla member Ivan Soriano said. Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said that prosecutors will launch a formal investigation into the 'mistreatment, torture and sexual assault', stressing that the Spanish government 'will not allow this to go unpunished'. Meanwhile, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) has reportedly denied allegations of abuse in prison, saying detained activists were held "in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff". Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters earlier this week, seizing all 50 vessels and detaining 428 participants from more than 40 countries. The convoy aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza amid Israel's ongoing land and naval blockade, with the enclave facing severe shortages of food, medicine and essential supplies. The interception and detentions sparked strong backlash worldwide and in Israel, after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted footage on social media of him taunting blindfolded, bound and kneeling detainees at Ashdod Port. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's right to stop the flotilla but criticised National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying the way he dealt with the activists was 'not in line with Israel's values'."
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