Italian activists detained by Israel: 'They woke us every 20 minutes, we were beaten'

Six Italian activists detained by Israeli security forces on November 6 while participating in olive harvest in the West Bank were deported to their country today and disclosed that they were subjected to physical and psychological violence during detention.

According to Anadolu Agency citing Italian news agency ANSA, the activists were detained near Kafr Ni'ma village close to Ramallah. Activist Marco Cola, who returned to Venice via Ben Gurion Airport, told press at the airport: "They searched us, interrogated us, scanned us and stripped us naked; they didn't even give us a chance to speak with a lawyer."

Cola described the detention process as follows: He stated they woke him every 20 minutes, kept the lights constantly on, made noise, and subjected him to insults and ridicule, adding, "Our first night we had no water and they didn't feed us until 07:00 the next morning." He said his request for toilet paper was not met and blisters formed all over his body.

According to Cola's account, minutes after they reached fields belonging to Palestinians, approximately 10 settlers carrying rifles, pistols and knives arrived; soldiers followed them. Cola, saying "no bones were broken but I was severely beaten with fists and kicks," noted that the Palestinian landowners were "brutally beaten."

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had called on November 6 for the activists' release, stating that they had not carried out any actions warranting their detention, demanding that Israeli authorities free them.