British Gaza flotilla activists say they needed hospital care after Israeli forces’ abuse

Two British activists have said they were admitted to hospital after being beaten by Israeli forces who intercepted their Gaza aid flotilla last week . Alice Chapman and Zak Khan were among 180 members of the Global Sumud flotilla detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in international waters near Crete late on Wednesday. Khan, a Green party council election candidate, said he had been shot in the leg with a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli solder. “I was beaten by four people, repeatedly punched, kicked, spat on and accused of being a terrorist,” he said. Chapman told the Guardian an Israeli solder had punched her. Two members of the flotilla, Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish national of Palestinian origin, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian national, are still being held in Israel. They have been brought before a court in the city of Ashkelon, but neither has been charged. Thiago Ávila appears in court in Ashkelon on 3 May. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/ Khan said doctors had told him he had come close to suffering a broken jaw during his assault. He also contracted a chest infection from the conditions in which the detainees were kept onboard an Israeli prison ship. According to Chapman, this involved about half of the detainees having to sleep inside shipping containers, while half had to stay outside. …