The Flotilla's ground mission ends in Libya. Following Monday evening's violent eviction of the convoy camped near Sirte for days , the approximately two hundred activists of various nationalities have decided to return home. Among them are seven Italians who will arrive at Fiumicino Airport tomorrow morning.
"We were attacked by western Libyan forces in our camp," says Sara Suriano, one of them. "We were on guard waiting for the release of our comrades, and we saw black military vans arriving. They were all wearing masks."
He explains that, at that point, everyone gathered in the mosque. "There was chaos," he adds. "The mosque was eventually cleared with gas." He describes some women being "pushed, hit in the back, one grabbed by the neck, one dragged by the feet outside." The worst hit was "a young man from the organization" who was left "unconscious and is believed to have suffered a head injury after being punched." The land convoy had departed on May 15 (Nakba Day) carrying seven ambulances, 20 mobile homes, ten trucks of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, and over 200 participants from more than 25 countries.
Meanwhile, news is awaited from the other ten activists from the same expedition, including Domenico Centrone and Dina Alberizia, who were detained in recent days in eastern Libya. The consul general in Benghazi is awaiting instructions to visit them. They are accused of "illegal entry" for entering the region without authorization and are expected to be expelled soon. The Foreign Ministry in Benghazi has stated that it has acted "in compliance with the law and humanitarian rights," assuring them that "they are receiving the necessary medical and humanitarian assistance."
And in Italy, the Rome Prosecutor's Office is continuing its investigation into the detention in Israel of participants in the "sea mission" after the boats boarded in international waters. Around ten names from the Israeli chain of command are being examined by prosecutors who are assessing possible criminal charges against them.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also taunted the activists—caught on video—while they were kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs in the port of Ashdod. And Ben Gvir may not be the only Israeli government official under scrutiny by prosecutors. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani addressed the incident again today: "Minister Ben Gvir is responsible for the Flotilla affair, because both Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Sa'ar condemned what he did. He is responsible for that affair, and that's why we're sanctioning him." Meanwhile, according to Lucio Malan, president of the Brothers of Italy senators, "these expeditions end up putting the Italian government in difficulty, too, which then has to intervene diplomatically with complex interlocutors like Haftar."
(Unioneonline)
