Israeli Soldiers Beat, Stripped And Robbed Freedom Flotilla Activists
“If we were Palestinians it would be much worse with physical assaults and probably loss of lives. The situation is therefore dire for the Palestinians.” Founding trustee of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Dr Swee Ang was on board the Al-Awda boat sailing to break the illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip when occupation forces commandeered the vessel. In a personal testimony Ang outlines the violent treatment the unarmed activists received at the hands of heavily armed Israeli soldiers in international waters. After boarding Al-Awda, occupation forces were “twisting the arms of the participants”, “lifting” and “throwing” others out of their way and tasering those they could not manhandle, Ang explained. Al-Awda was taken over by Israeli forces on 29 July, after it was surrounded by them and had its crew detained.