SEPANG: The Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC) has condemned alleged violence, mental torture, and intimidation by Israeli extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli naval forces against unarmed humanitarian activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0.
SNCC director-general Datuk Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby said the reported actions violate international humanitarian law and United Nations resolutions.
He said such conduct also contravenes the Rome Statute, under which torture, assault or inhumane treatment of detainees constitutes a serious breach of the Geneva Conventions.
"These actions reveal the true face of an apartheid regime that continues to operate beyond the bounds of humanity," he said at a press briefing on the latest developments involving the GSF 2.0 mission.
Earlier, a viral video posted online by Ben-Gvir reportedly showed detained activists with their hands tied and being forced to kneel after being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
On Wednesday (May 20), SNCC said all 50 vessels of the GSF 2.0 flotilla carrying 428 activists from 40 countries had been intercepted about 80 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.
Sani Araby said conflicting statements from Israeli leaders regarding Ben-Gvir's actions indicate internal divisions within the Israeli administration.
"This is because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the foreign minister and Israel's ambassador to the United States, had described the actions as inconsistent with Israel's values and reckless," he said.
Sani Araby said SNCC had also received information, which was also published in colonial newspapers, that some of the kidnapped activists were expected to be transferred to Ketziot Prison, Israel, soon.
"Legal teams from the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA), working with the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights (ADALAH), were ready at Ashdod port, where detained activists, including Malaysians, are reportedly being held.
"It is also confirmed that the flotilla's humanitarian activists, including Malaysians, are in stable condition and are awaiting permission to meet," he said, adding that at least 87 detained activists had begun a large-scale hunger strike in protest against what they described as unlawful detention and mistreatment. - Bernama
