According to Times of Israel, on October 2, 2025, several hundred Gaza activists seized during a recent flotilla mission are likely being held in Ketziot Prison, a maximum-security facility in southern Israel known for its harsh conditions, experts and human rights groups say.
This represents a sharp shift from past incidents where activists were detained in less restrictive facilities.
Omer Shatz, an Israeli international law expert based at Paris’s Sciences Po University, explained that unlike previous flotilla detainees, who were held in standard immigration jails, the current group of about 500 activists could be confined in Ketziot Prison.
“Ketziot is a high-security facility that doesn’t normally hold ‘immigration’ detainees,” Shatz pointed out.
He suggested that using Ketziot might be a logistical decision by Israeli authorities because managing hundreds of detainees is complex. Still, he highlighted the prison’s reputation for harsh conditions.
The shift in detention approach comes amid ongoing discussions within Israeli political circles, including proposals by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, advocating for prolonged detention of flotilla participants.
Israeli human rights organization Adalah expressed concern over these developments, emphasizing the potential for increased severity in how activists are treated.
“There are serious concerns that activists may be treated more harshly than in previous flotilla missions,” the group said.
This marks an escalation from past detentions where activists were held temporarily in less secure environments.
The move to Ketziot may signal tougher policies against those involved in protests or attempts to breach the Gaza blockade.
As the situation develops, human rights advocates warn that several hundred detainees could face conditions associated with high-security imprisonment rather than standard immigration detention, raising calls for international attention and legal scrutiny. See, More, Here>>>
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