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Turkey says 137 Gaza flotilla activists to arrive in Istanbul <article data-history-node-id="429661" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/turkey-says-137-gaza-flotilla-activists-arrive-istanbul" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/turkey-says-137-gaza-flotilla-activists-arrive-istanbul" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Turkey says 137 Gaza flotilla activists to arrive in Istanbul</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla seeking to deliver vital aid to Gaza are being flown to Istanbul, Turkey's foreign ministry said on Saturday.</p> <p>The individuals include 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, ministry sources told Reuters.</p> <p>The Turkish Airlines flight is expected to land sometime after 3:40pm local time (1240 GMT), the ministry said.</p> <p>Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled next week - along with activists from other nations.</p> <p>Israel has faced international condemnation after its military illegally intercepted all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.</p> <p>"I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights", Tajani wrote on X.</p> <p>A first group of Italians from the flotilla - four parliamentarians - arrived in Rome on Friday.</p> <p>"Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza", Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.</p> <p>"We were brutally stopped ... brutally taken hostage", said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.</p> <p>According to Adalah, an Israeli rights group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some of them were denied access to lawyers, and denied access to water and medications, as well as the use of toilets.</p> <p>Activists were also "forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted 'Free Palestine,'" Adalah said.</p> <p>Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p> <p><em>Reporting by Reuters</em></p> </div> </div> </article> https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/turkey-says-137-gaza-flotilla-activists-arrive-istanbul