Call it what it is: A genocide! |
In the early morning of 8 October 2025, Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted our vessel Conscience in international waters, approximately 130 nautical miles from Gaza. The vessel was carrying humanitarian aid, with journalists, medics, and activists on board, sailing to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza, imposed for the past 18 years.
Israeli naval commandos confined all 92 of us in the vessel’s cafeteria until we reached the port of Ashdod. I was wearing a kufiyah, and as I disembarked and walked a few feet, I felt someone trying to pull my arms behind my back. It was still dark. At first, I resisted and freed myself, but then more force was applied; my arms were zip-tied behind me. Several Israeli guards mishandled me and took my kufiyah. I was taken to a holding area and forced to kneel on a hard surface, possibly stone, for nearly an hour or more. The pain was unbearable. I saw my comrades in the same position, though most of their hands were not zip-tied.
Eventually, one of the guards took me for immigration processing. Later, I was tightly blindfolded, placed on a prison truck, and transferred to Ketziot Prison with my comrades.
The following morning, while we (the Freedom Flotilla participants) were illegally detained in Ketziot Prison, Israeli police guards came to our cell and rushed us out. Two comrades and I were taken to another location within the prison compound. We were not informed of our destination. We were ushered into a room inside a steel container, where we met our lawyer from the legal centre Adalah, which represents Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Our lawyer informed us that this was a tribunal gathering testimonies........