The UN charges against Israel for the detention and mistreatment of the Gaza flotilla and calls for accountability

New York.- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday criticized the Israeli government for the detention and mistreatment of activists on the Gaza flotilla, which he defined as «humiliating», and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

This was explained by Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, when asked about the detention of more than 400 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla who were trying to reach Gaza. The detention gained even more relevance after the publication of a video of the Israeli National Security Minister, the ultranationalist Ben Gvir, in which he mocks the detained activists, handcuffed and kneeling face down, while waving a national flag and smiling when an agent violently pushes a handcuffed woman. “Don’t worry about their screams” or “Welcome to Israel!” Ben Gvir exclaimed to the activists crammed in the sun as the Israeli anthem played.

After watching the video, Guterres’ spokesman said he was “very concerned” and referred to the treatment “inflicted on the detainees” as “humiliating”.

“It is necessary that everyone be released and sent home. The people responsible for this treatment must be held accountable,” Dujarric asserted.

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The Violence Allegations Against the Flotilla

Several of the participants reported to EFE that during their detention they suffered extreme violence, systematic beatings, shots, measures to cause pain, thirst, cold, hunger and fatigue. The Secretary-General’s condemnation joins that of other countries such as Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium or Canada, which have even gone so far as to summon Israel’s top diplomatic officials in their territories to demand an explanation in this regard. Even US Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated that Ben Gvir “betrayed the dignity of his nation” with “despicable” actions in an unprecedented gesture.