WARSAW

Four Polish activists detained by Israel after a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was raided last week returned to Warsaw on Wednesday, accusing Israeli forces of brutality and rebuking Poland’s foreign minister for downplaying the assault.

The delegation, arriving on a flight from Athens, included ruling Civic Platform (PO) lawmaker Franciszek Sterczewski, activists Omar Faris and Nina Ptak, and journalist Ewa Jasiewicz. Faris, Ptak, and Sterczewski were deported to Greece on Monday, while Jasiewicz had left Israel earlier.

Sterczewski sharply criticized both Israel and Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski.

“Why, at a time when we were doing everything we could to end this genocide and draw the world's attention to what was happening there, did Minister Sikorski downplay the situation?” Sterczewski said, adding that he had learned firsthand that “Israel is a barbaric and terrorist state, just like, for example, Russia.”

“We expect that if Sikorski can accuse Putin of his war crimes, we expect him to be consistent and accuse Benjamin Netanyahu of the same crimes, or even worse,” he added.

Sterczewski said the five days he spent in Israeli detention were marked by mistreatment. “It wasn't pleasant. We weren't allowed to sleep. Guards shone flashlights in our eyes for hours and played music from Israeli propaganda films. We were set on by dogs. We were spat on. We were threatened with weapons,” he said.

The MP added that around 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 400 children, remain in Israeli detention. “We point out that they are treated even worse there. They are often murdered, and all human rights are violated,” he said.

The four Poles were among 470 activists from 47 countries participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a humanitarian convoy attacked in international waters by the Israeli navy last week. Forty-two ships were seized during the overnight raid from Wednesday to Thursday.

At Warsaw Airport, Faris told reporters: “We must all stand together against the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.”

“They treated us absolutely brutally. For several hours, I'm 73 years old, they tied my hands behind my back and put me on rocks,” Faris said.

He added that during interrogation in an Israeli prison, the activists were questioned about possible links to Hamas. “Our problem is the occupation, which began 42 years before the founding of Hamas,” he said. “You won't be able to kill us. And we don't want to kill you either. We want a solution like in South Africa — a democratic state for all, regardless of religion.”