Italians detained in the West Bank say they were mistreated by Israeli security forces

Italian activists, who were illegally detained by Israeli security forces while participating in the olive harvest in the West Bank, Palestinian territory, and were deported this morning, stated that they were mistreated, including physical and psychological violence, during their detention.

According to the news of the Italian ANSA agency, 6 activists who were detained on November 6 while participating in the olive harvest around the Kafr Ni'ma village near Ramallah in the West Bank returned to their country today.

Marco Cola, one of the activists who came to Venice from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, told the press at the airport about the ill-treatment of the Israeli security forces: "They searched us, questioned us, scanned us and stripped us naked, they did not even give us the chance to talk to a lawyer." he said.

Pointing out that their sleep was interrupted by threats and humiliations during detention, Cola said, "They came and woke me up every 20 minutes. The lights were always on, noise was made, insults and ridicule were made. We were left without water the first night and they did not give us food until 07:00 the next morning. We also asked for toilet paper, but they did not have it. Now I have blisters all over my body." he said.

Describing his experiences, Cola said:

"A few minutes after we were in the Palestinian fields, about 10 settlers arrived, armed with weapons. They had rifles, pistols and knives. The soldiers came right after. No bones were broken, but I was badly beaten with punches and kicks."

Cola stated that the Palestinian owners of the lands were "brutally beaten".

Other activists, like Cola, also noted that their experiences were terrible and that they were subjected to physical and psychological violence.

In his statement on November 6, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani stated that the 6 activists who were in the region for the olive harvest did not do anything that required detention and called on the Israeli authorities to be released as soon as possible.