Israel's foreign ministry has mocked the activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, alleging that injuries were "staged" for the cameras after an activist pictured in a neck brace displayed a "miraculous recovery" when returning home without it. This comes as many activists have returned to their home countries after being detained and deported from Israeli custody. Multiple activists have accused Israeli forces of abuse, torture and even sexual violence and rape whilst they were held in detention.
The provocative posts sparked a rebuttal from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, which said activist Nesrin Zeaiter had "experienced a concussion and over 40 bruises" in custody, and that a neck brace is "standard precautionary protocol for suspected cervical injury."
Despite these posts mocking the activists, Israel's foreign ministry has not directly addressed the wider allegations of abuse against its forces, apart from an Israeli prison spokesperson teling Reuters that the "allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis."
The flotilla and treatment of the activists onboard have been at the centre of a media storm since last week, when far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video online of himself taunting the activists as they were detained by Israeli police. It included a clip of himself waving an Israeli flag over the participants as they lay hunched over on the ground, their hands bound with zip-ties. The sharing of this video triggered an immediate backlash from several countries whose citizens were onboard the ship, with France becoming the latest country to ban Ben-Gvir from entry.
Read moreFar-right Israeli minister sparks outcry with video of bound and kneeling Gaza flotilla activists
The Israeli foreign ministry account also reposted a video to sarcastically hit back at Spain, which has been vocal about its support for the flotilla activists and its condemnation of Israel's war in Gaza. Online, it shared a video of recent clashes between activists and police in Bilbao airport, saying it "demanded an explanation" from Madrid about its treatment against the "flotilla anarchists".
Images from Spanish state broadcaster TVE showed that scuffles began when a relative of one of the six activists tried to approach them, and was forcefully stopped by a police officer. In another post, Israel decried "hypocrisy" from Spain for its treatment of the flotilla activists in Bilbao, after Madrid condemned what Israel called its "lawful actions" against the same activists.
Vedika Bahl goes through what we know in Truth or Fake.
