The Adalah Center for Arab-Israeli Human Rights said Tuesday that eight Madeleine activists are awaiting trial for refusing to sign deportation orders, while four others have left or are on their way out.
The center explained in a statement that "the eight activists, including French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, who is an anti-Israel activist, refused to sign the deportation orders and were therefore detained and will appear in court today."
He explained that the Center's legal team is accompanying the detainees before the court and the Israeli authorities, who will today address the legality of the deportation decision.
The center emphasized that the detention and forced deportation of the volunteers constitutes a clear violation of international law, particularly given the peaceful and humanitarian nature of the mission, which aimed to break the illegal blockade imposed on Gaza.
The center noted that four activists have left or are on their way out, including Al Jazeera correspondent Omar Fayyad, after completing legal procedures and confirming their travel tickets.
For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted photos of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on its X platform, on her way to Paris, heading home to her country, after being forcibly deported.
At dawn on Monday, Israel arrested 12 activists from several countries after seizing the ship Madeleine while it was in international waters en route to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid.
Later, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the activists aboard the Madeleine had been transferred to Ben Gurion Airport, pending their deportation to their home countries, after Israeli forces seized the ship and took it to the port of Ashdod.
Ship activists
The Madeleine was crewed by 12 activists, half of whom were French nationals: Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, political activist Pascal Moreiras, environmental activist Riva Fayard, Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Omar Fayyad, physician and activist Baptiste André, and journalist Yanis Mohammadi.
The crew also included Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, German-Turkish political activist Yasemin Acar, Brazilian political activist Thiago Avila, Turkish political activist Şeyb Ordu, Spanish political activist Sergio Toribio, and Dutch marine engineering student Marco van Ryn.
The ship was hijacked while sailing in international waters, and was surrounded by Israeli boats. Soldiers appeared on a live broadcast asking the protesters to raise their hands.
The piracy operation comes after Israeli warnings that the ship's sailing was an "illegal attempt" to break the naval blockade imposed on Gaza, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 181,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, more than 11,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
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8 Madeleine activists refuse to sign deportation papers