Spanish
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on Thursday that today "the transfer to Ashdod of the 400 members of the Global Sumud Flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces when they were heading to Gaza will have been completed" and stated that Israel wants to repatriate them to London and Madrid.
During a briefing in the Chamber of Deputies, the also vice president of the Italian Government explained that "tonight, after Yom Kippur", the detainees "will be transferred to facilities in Be'er Sheva" and "tomorrow morning they will receive consular visits".
He said that, after the 'sabbat', there will be a second consular visit early Sunday morning, pending the repatriations scheduled for Monday, October 6th, and Tuesday, October 7th.
He added that the Israeli government intends to repatriate all people on board the Global Sumud Flotilla "by a single measure of forced expulsion" and "on board "two charter flights, on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 October, in two different European capitals" which it wants to be London and Madrid.
He explained that the Israeli authorities "have requested that it be London and Madrid because they are the headquarters of the Flotilla's leadership" and, therefore, there will not be a specific flight for Italy, although they are working on it.
He also reported that the MEP for the Green and Left Alliance (AVS) Benedetta Scuderi and the senator of the 5-Star Movement, Marco Croatti, who were traveling aboard the ship 'Morgana' were among the first to be transferred to Ashdod and are in the temporary identification and detention center of the Israeli port.
He also explained that the ship 'Karma', on which the Democratic Party (PD) deputy Arturo Scotto and the MEP of the same party Annalisa Corrado are traveling, "has separated from the flotilla and has been authorized to disembark in Ashdod" autonomously; the Italian embassy is requesting authorization so that they can deliver the aid and then leave for Cyprus and Greece.
He emphasized in his appearance that "the approaches were peaceful and without violence and were prepared through numerous approximation measures, starting from the mother ship Alma", and that, according to the information obtained by the Italian embassy in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Navy has used more than 16 ships in the operation.
