Turkey says it is sending charter flights to Israel to repatriate Gaza flotilla activists, a day after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked international outrage with a video of the activists kneeling with their hands tied.
“We plan to bring our citizens and participants from third countries to Turkey via special charter flights we will organize today,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says in a statement.
Fidan does not say how many activists would be flown to Turkey, but Turkish media reports that 78 Turkish nationals were among the detainees.
The foreign minister says Turkey is working “to ensure the safety of our citizens who have been detained following the unlawful intervention against the Global Sumud Fleet, and to facilitate their safe return to Turkey.”
Earlier, Spain said 44 Spanish activists would be deported from Israel via Turkey later today.
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