Israel pressured airlines into stopping volunteers in their departure country before take off, but about a hundred managed to fly. Once they landed, the volunteers were arrested, eventually processed and then imprisoned at Givon Prison in Ramleh, close to Tel Aviv, or in Beersheba prison in the Negev desert.

Most of the volunteers were deported in small groups over the last few days, and report mistreatment during arrest and detention. The Luton group was no exception, and told of how guards withheld adequate medical provision for one lady suffering from diarrhea.

The ‘Flytilla’ volunteers are predominantly French, but Tuesday’s arrivals represented the majority of the British contingent, with six British nationals and two American nationals in transit on the flight. Two other Brits were deported on Monday and two more remain in Israeli prisons.

See the video at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUZJe_X-TsU for a full interview with some of the returning volunteers