​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday slammed the mistreatment of American activists who were detained last week following Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters.

“This is appalling. Americans are being beaten for wanting to feed starving babies + people,” Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives, wrote on X. “They are following international laws to break the illegal siege on Gaza and help stop the suffering. Yet many colleagues won’t use their power of the vote to stop funding this genocide.”

Her remarks came after David Adler, a Jewish American activist aboard the flotilla, described being assaulted and humiliated while in Israeli custody.

Adler said he was dragged to his knees for a photo op with an Israeli flag as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shouted in his face, calling him a “terrorist.”

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels from the flotilla in international waters beginning last Wednesday, detaining more than 470 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla was trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.

Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable, with widespread starvation and the spread of disease.