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Journalist Noa Avishag Schnall accused Israeli guards of treating her and other prisoners with “extreme brutality” on Monday, including beatings and “threats of rape,” after Israeli forces removed them from international waters while they were aboard the Freedom of Conscience Flotilla.
In a video statement posted on social media, Schnall, a Los Angeles-born photojournalist who had been reporting from the flotilla for Drop Site News, recalled the “extreme brutality” she allegedly experienced during her captivity.
“Our ship, the Conscience, was attacked in international waters around 5 a.m. Wednesday,” said Schnall, who appeared in the video with a black eye and bruises. She added:
The brutality began immediately. We were taken through multiple levels of administration and the first of many strip searches. At least one woman reported being physically penetrated by guards who laughed at her pain. Many members of the flotilla reported seeing guards looting their valuables during bag searches. All of us had our hands violently pushed to the ground and our arms held in tense positions behind us, many with zip ties, and we were guided through processing and sorted into groups of men and women, then blindfolded. Several of the 150 members of the flotilla, including me, were subjected to extreme brutality throughout our imprisonment.
Schnall accused Israeli prison guards of beating her and other members of the flotilla and blocking her airways.
“Any member of the flotilla who disturbed the Israeli guards was subjected to tight, twisted handcuffs and some were beaten,” he said. “A group of male and female guards hung me from metal shackles on my wrists and ankles and beat me on my stomach, back, face, ear and skull, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airway.”
The journalist continued: “Many comrades understandably do not want their identity made public when they recount this treatment. During the night, the men were tormented by guards with attack dogs and firearms. The women were threatened with pepper spray. Our cell was awakened with threats of rape.”
Reacting to Schnall’s statement on Monday, Drop Site News reporter Ryan Grim wrote: “The State of Israel claims to be a safe haven for Jews, but in Noa’s case, she was taken there against her will and brutalized.”
Several Palestinian doctors and health workers reported similar violent treatment at the hands of Israeli military personnel in a documentary earlier this year.
“I was in bad condition, my ribs were broken. But inside, during the interrogation, they beat me continuously,” said the Palestinian paramedic. Walid Khalili. “They hung me, they hung everyone, blood was flowing from everyone. They started to torture me, they electrocuted me.”
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