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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 being taken by Israeli forces from international waters while aboard the Conscience Freedom Flotilla.
In a video statement published to 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 boat, the Conscience, was attacked in international waters around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning,” 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 has reported being physically penetrated by guards who laughed at her pain. Many flotilla members reported watching their valuables being looted by guards during bag searches. All of us had our hands violently shoved towards the ground and arms held in stress positions behind us, many with zip-ties, and were led through processing and sorted into groups of men and women, then blindfolded. Several of the 150 total flotilla members, including me, were targeted for extreme brutality throughout imprisonment.
Schnall accused Israeli prison guards of beating her and other members of the flotilla and of blocking her airways.
“Any flotilla member who upset the Israeli guards was subjected to twisted and tightened handcuffs and some received beatings,” she said. “I was hung from the metal shackles on my wrists and ankles and beaten in the stomach, back, face, ear, and skull by a group of men and women guards, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airways.”
The journalist continued, “Many comrades, understandably, do not want their identity made public when recounting this treatment. During the evening, the men were tormented by guards with attack dogs and guns. The women were threatened with pepper spray. Our cell was awoken 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 healthcare workers alleged similar violent treatment at the hands of Israeli military personnel in a documentary earlier this year.
“I was in a bad way, my ribs were broken. But inside, during interrogation, they would continuously beat me,” said Palestinian paramedic Walid Khalili. “They hung me up, everyone was hung up, blood flowing from everyone. They started torturing me, they electrocuted me.”
The post American Journalist Says She Experienced ‘Extreme Brutality’ at Hands of Israeli Guards, Including Beatings and ‘Threats of Rape’ first appeared on Mediaite.
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