After arriving in Ashdod, we were charged with entering Israel illegally and presented with a deportation order. We told the immigration officials that we had been kidnapped in international waters by the IOF and brought to Israel against our will and refused to sign any documents or agree to pay for our air tickets to leave Israel. We were sent to the immigration and deportation processing jail at Givon and after lengthy processing finally arrived at our cells around 5am on October 6.
We demanded to see the Israeli lawyers that had agreed to represent us and to also see representatives of our respective Embassies. By 3pm we had spoken to both and had agreed to the legal advice to write on the deportation order that we were in Israel against our will. By 6pm we were taken to the deportation jail at Ben Gurion International Airport and Israeli officials began putting our Women's Boat to Gaza participants and crew on flights to their home countries. The Al Jazeera journalists had been deported to their homes in the UK and Russia the evening we arrived in Israel.
All of our participants and crew have now arrived safely to their homes. They are committed to continuing to speak out strongly about the conditions in Gaza and the West Bank and demand that Israel and the international community bring Gaza out of the darkness imposed by their policies.
We know our voyage was important to the people of Gaza.
The photos of preparations for our arrival and videos that thank us for our efforts have been heartwarming. As the young Palestinian woman said, "It doesn't matter that the boats are towed (to Israel) and the passengers deported. Just knowing that supporters are still willing to keep trying (to get to Gaza) is enough."
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