One arrested as Gaza flotilla activists face rowdy welcome on return to Austria

Austrian police arrested one person as three activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla returned home on Sunday and were greeted by a rowdy welcoming from supporters.

A video showed the man being manhandled to the floor as police confronted the activists, along with a crowd of their supporters who greeted them at Vienna International Airport.

It came a day after Spanish police arrested four people during a clash at Bilbao Airport when four flotilla activists returned to that country.

In the Vienna video, supporters were seen marching through the airport waving Palestinian flags.

They chanted “From the river to the sea,” which is seen by some as a call to wipe Israel off the map.

Police officers arrived as the group became loud and obstructed the area, according to a Monday report from the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper.

An Austrian Flotilla member was just assertively ARRESTED as soon as he landed in Vienna airport. Seems he’s been a very naughty boy. pic.twitter.com/DUxZ0Yl7av

— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) May 24, 2026

The man who was arrested was seen being pushed to the ground with his arms behind his back as he chanted “Free Palestine.”

In the video, the man can also be heard saying to police, “I’m just coming back from your role models,” an apparent reference to alleged rough treatment by Israeli authorities.

He later identified himself in a separate video he posted to social media as former Austrian pro-skier Julian Schutter.

“I was arrested because I was apparently too loud and lying in the way in the terminal,” Schutter said.

He also showed his arm with two bruises, claiming one was caused by Austrian police and the other by the IDF, the Mail reported.

Austrian police said in a statement that they used “proportionate force,” according to the report.

The incidents came after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked a diplomatic incident on Wednesday over a video he released showing him taunting the activists as they were forced to kneel on the floor with their hands bound. The video triggered an international outcry, with dozens of countries condemning Israel’s treatment of the detained activists.

Israel intercepted the flotilla last week and detained 430 activists from 40 countries, who were brought to Israel and then deported.

Organizers, the Global Sumud Flotilla, said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance.

Israel has dismissed the flotilla as “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas.”

Organizers have alleged abuse, sexual assault, and beatings that left some detainees in the hospital.

Israel’s prison service has strongly denied the allegations, which Reuters could not independently verify.

Eleven Australians were among the volunteers on 50 boats intercepted in international waters last week by Israeli forces.

One activist reached Melbourne on Sunday evening, while others arrived in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane on Monday.

Juliet Lamont, an Australian activist and documentary filmmaker, told Reuters on Monday that she was dragged, sexually assaulted, and beaten when she was detained.

“That was just the beginning of four days of absolute hell. I’ve looked into the eyes of the most soulless people in the universe, and nothing came back. These people need to be stopped,” Lamont said.

Another Australian activist, Sam Woripa Watson, said he sustained a fractured rib along with bruises and cuts across his body. Watson also said he had witnessed activists being tasered and shot with rubber bullets, with stun grenades thrown at them.

Global Sumud Flotilla, the organizer of the aid shipment, said it had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse, with the worst occurring on one Israeli landing craft, which had been converted into a makeshift prison with barbed wire and shipping containers.

The statement was released after the Israeli prison service’s blanket denial of mistreatment, rape, and sexual assault allegations.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the Ben Gvir footage as “shocking and unacceptable.” Australia imposed a travel ban and financial sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israeli forces began stopping the boats around 268 kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website. Israel also stopped 20 boats from the flotilla on April 30 near Crete.

A live feed on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s website showed IDF soldiers boarding the vessels as activists in life vests put their hands up. Soldiers then destroyed cameras mounted on the vessels.