Israel is to expel by the end of the week four French nationals held after security forces intercepted their Gaza-bound aid boat, France’s foreign minister has said, as an Israeli NGO said one of the French campaigners was briefly put in solitary confinement, AFP reports.
The four, who include Rima Hassan, a member of European Parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party who is of Palestinian descent, will be deported today and tomorrow, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
Four of the 12 activists on board the Madleen ship, including two French citizens and Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, agreed to be deported immediately.
The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, according to Adalah, an Israeli rights NGO representing most of the activists. All 12 of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years.
