Confederation summons Israel's ambassador Swiss participants in the Gaza aid flotilla are now in Turkey
All eight Swiss nationals who were on the international Gaza aid flotilla have been flown out to Turkey. The Swiss government also received the Israeli ambassador for talks.
21.05.2026, 22:44
SDA
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- Israel stopped a Gaza aid flotilla consisting of more than 50 boats in international waters near Cyprus at the beginning of the week.
- Swiss citizens were also on board. They were temporarily detained and have now been flown out to Turkey.
- The FDFA has summoned the Israeli ambassador in this matter.
The Swiss activists, together with all other participants in the Gaza flotilla, were taken to Turkey on Thursday afternoon, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) wrote in response to a request from the Keystone-SDA news agency. Switzerland is in contact with the Israeli and Turkish authorities.
Israel's treatment of the activists had previously attracted international criticism. On Wednesday, the FDFA called on Israel's ambassador and authorities to respect the fundamental rights of those arrested in Switzerland.
Humiliating treatment
A video by Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing Gaza activists in a humiliating manner caused great displeasure worldwide. The video shows the minister with a group of supporters and waving an Israeli flag between handcuffed and kneeling activists of the international Gaza aid flotilla in the Israeli port city of Ashdod. "Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords here," he shouts in the video, in which he also mocks the activists.
On X, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar clearly distanced himself from his far-right cabinet colleague. Saar wrote that he had "knowingly harmed the state with this shameful appearance".
Prime Minister Netanyahu, in turn, wrote that Ben Gvir's treatment of the activists was not in line with Israel's values and norms. At the same time, he emphasized that Israel had the right to "prevent flotillas of Hamas supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching the Gaza Strip".
Israel's ambassador summoned
In a post on X on Thursday, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) described the minister's behavior as "shameful and irresponsible". "It contradicts the principles of the Israeli constitutional state and Jewish values. The SIG follows the European Jewish Congress and formally distances itself from this behavior," the organization continued.
According to the FDFA, the head of the Swiss Middle East Division, Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, therefore received the Israeli ambassador for talks on Thursday and criticized Ben Gvir's behaviour and "the unacceptable treatment of the flotilla participants". She also called on the Israeli ambassador to respect international law and the fundamental rights of the activists, as the FDFA has already done several times vis-à-vis the Israeli authorities.
