Most of the more than 450 detainees of the Global Sumud flotilha, transferred to the arrest of Saharonim, in the Negueve Desert in southern Israel, agreed to be deported immediately, a prison official said today.
According to the source, quoted by the Spanish news agency Efe, about 450 people from various nationalities, including four Portuguese, are detained in the establishment, located next to the locality of Kziot, near the border with Egypt, and “most” has already signed to agree with deportation.
Those who accepted will be shipped on airplanes to leave Israel “as soon as possible,” probably in the next two days, according to European diplomatic source who visited citizens of their country detained at the scene.
Those who have not accepted will have to appear before a judge, who will decide on a possible forced deportation, a process that will take longer, he added.
Diplomats present indicated that their nationals “are fine”, although some suffer from the extreme heat of the desert of the cenhove and the poor rest conditions, after two nightsless nights or sleeping very little.
In the prison parking park were today diplomatic vehicles from various countries and it was possible to confirm the presence of consular representatives from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Jordan and Bahrain.
Three lawyers of the Flotilha Legal Team, from the Adalah organization, waited for hours to be able to enter the ongoing hearings, designed to decide on the extension of pre -trial detention until deportation.
The jurists denounced that the sessions were taking place without the presence of defense lawyers, which considered a violation of the right to legal representation.
On Wednesday night, over 12 hours, the Israeli Navy intercepted, one by one, the more than 40 flotilla boats.
The detainees and vessels were taken to the Ashdod Israelite Port, where they were identified by police before passing the border authorities for immigration procedures.
Throughout the night the process took place gradually and most of the detainees – except for four Italian deputies and MEPs, who were immediately deported – was transferred to buses from Porto to Saharonim’s arrest.
According to Efe an attorney from Flotilha, Saharonim’s arrest was designed to host irregular immigrants in Israel and has the capacity to host the hundreds of crew members of vessels trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.
