Most of the Flotilla detainees accept immediate deportation

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Most of the more than 450 detainees from the Sumud Global Flotilla, transferred to Saharonim prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel, have agreed to be deported immediately, a prison official said on Friday.

According to the source, cited by the Spanish news agency EFE, around 450 people of various nationalities, including four Portuguese, are being held in the establishment, located near the town of Kziot, close to the border with Egypt, and “the majority” have already signed their agreement to deportation.

Those who accepted will be put on planes to leave Israel "as quickly as possible," likely within the next two days, according to a European diplomatic source who visited citizens of his country detained there. Those who declined will have to appear before a judge, who will decide on possible forced deportation, a process that will take longer, he added.

Diplomats present indicated that their nationals “are fine,” although some are suffering from the extreme heat of the Negev Desert and poor sleeping conditions, after two nights without sleep or with very little sleep.

Diplomatic vehicles from several countries were parked in the prison parking lot on Friday, and the presence of consular representatives from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Jordan, and Bahrain was confirmed.

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Three lawyers from the flotilla's legal team, the Adalah organization, waited for hours to be allowed into the ongoing hearings, which were intended to decide whether to extend their pretrial detention until deportation. The lawyers complained that the sessions were being held without defense attorneys present, which they considered a violation of their right to legal representation.

On Wednesday night, over the course of about 12 hours, the Israeli navy intercepted , one by one, the more than 40 boats in the flotilla.

The detainees and the vessels were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where they were identified by police before passing through border authorities for immigration procedures.

Throughout the night, the process proceeded gradually, and most of the detainees — except for four Italian MPs and MEPs, who were immediately deported — were transferred by bus from the port to Saharonim prison.

As a lawyer for the flotilla explained to EFE, the Saharonim prison was designed to house immigrants in an irregular situation in Israel and has the capacity to house the hundreds of crew members of the vessels attempting to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.