A new controversy surrounds the activists of the pro-Palestinian flotilla intercepted by Israel. In Austria, the police were filmed restraining and arresting an activist upon his arrival at Vienna airport.
In the images shared on social media, the activist chanted the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase interpreted by many Israeli and Western officials as a call for the disappearance of Israel. Shortly afterward, several police officers intervened, pinned him to the ground, and then dragged him out of the terminal.
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The Austrian police defended their intervention to the Daily Mail, claiming they had used “proportionate force.”
This incident comes a day after similar scenes in Spain. At Bilbao airport, Spanish police arrested four people following clashes related to the return of activists from the flotilla. Videos show officers hitting some activists with batons and dragging them on the ground before their arrest.
The activists had been arrested by Israel as they tried to reach Gaza by sea, before being deported to their respective countries.
The affair took on an additional diplomatic dimension after the release, on Wednesday, of a video published by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir. In the video, the minister can be seen mocking the activists while they were kneeling on the ground with their hands tied.
The incident has provoked a wave of international outrage. Several dozen countries have condemned the treatment of pro-Palestinian activists arrested by Israel, while diplomatic tensions surrounding the war in Gaza continue to escalate.