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Journalist Noa Avishag Schnall accused Israeli guards of treating her and other prisoners with “extreme cruelty,” including beatings and “threats of rape,” on Monday after they were taken from international waters by Israeli forces while aboard the Conscience Freedom Flotilla.
In a video statement published on social media, Schnall – a Los Angeles-born photojournalist who had reported from the fleet for Drop Site News – recalled the “extreme brutality” she reportedly experienced during her captivity.
“Our boat, the Conscience, was attacked in international waters around 5 a.m. on 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 fleet members reported seeing their valuables looted by guards during bag searches. We all had our hands forcibly pushed to the ground and our arms held behind us in stress positions, many with zip ties, and were led through processing and sorted into groups of men and women, and then blindfolded. Several of the total 150 fleet members, including myself, were subjected to extreme brutality throughout the captivity.
Schnall accused Israeli prison guards of beating her and other members of the fleet and blocking her airways.
“Any fleet member who upset the Israeli guards was subjected to twisted and tight handcuffs and some were beaten,” she said. “I was hung from metal shackles around my wrists and ankles and punched in the stomach, back, face, ear and skull by a group of male and female guards, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airways.”
The journalist continued: “Many comrades understandably do not want their identities made public when recounting this treatment. Throughout the evening, the men were tormented by guards with attack dogs and guns. The women were threatened with pepper spray. Our cell was woken up with threats of rape.”
In response to Schnall's statement on Monday, Drop Site News reporter said Ryan Grim wrote: “The State of Israel claims to be a safe haven for Jews, but in Noah's case, she was taken there against her will and abused.”
Several Palestinian doctors and health workers alleged similar violent treatment by Israeli soldiers in a documentary earlier this year.
“I was in bad shape, my ribs were broken. But inside they kept beating me during the interrogation,” said a Palestinian paramedic. Walid Khalili. “They hanged me, everyone was hanged, blood poured out of everyone. They started torturing me, they electrocuted me.”
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