South Korean Woman Activist Deported Twice Says She Will Go to Gaza Again; Foreign Ministry Caught Off Guard

[The Financial News] South Korean activist Kim Ah-hyeon, who was detained by the IDF and deported twice, has stirred controversy by saying she will head back to the Gaza Strip as soon as she returned home on the 22nd. Kim had already boarded a Palestinian aid flotilla twice in an attempt to visit a travel-restricted area designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), but both attempts failed after she was detained by the IDF. Even President Lee Jae-myung stepped in to secure her release, voicing strong dissatisfaction with Israel, which also led to diplomatic friction.
Even so, Kim's declaration that she intends to go to Gaza for a third time immediately after her release has left MOFA embarrassed. Her efforts to visit Gaza were reportedly supported by the Korean Headquarters for the Flotilla for the Liberation of Palestine (KFFP).
Speaking to reporters after arriving home that morning, Kim said, "I always plan to go to Gaza." She added, "Until Gaza is liberated, and even after that, I plan to visit Palestine and other isolated places around the world."
Responding to MOFA's invalidation of her passport, she argued, "I believe people have the right to live where they want and move to where they want to go." She added, "Even if the government tries to stop me through the legal process of a passport, I still have the right to do what I want."
Still, perhaps mindful of criticism, she noted, "Many countries' consuls are trying to avoid diplomatic conflict with Israel because the situation in the Middle East is dangerous. In that context, I think the South Korean government did what it had to do."
Kim Ah-hyeon arrived at Incheon International Airport on Thai Airways Flight TG658 on the morning of the 22nd вместе with fellow activist Kim Dong-hyun, who was also deported from Israel.
One day after President Lee strongly protested to Israel on the 20th, the two were deported and sent home. The Israeli government expelled them to a third country, and they entered Incheon Airport via Bangkok, Thailand, on the morning of the 22nd.
A Foreign Ministry official said the previous day that the deported South Korean activists were sent straight to a third country without being taken to a detention facility. The official also said Israel had granted special treatment to South Korea. Until now, various human rights abuses against activists were reportedly taking place in Israeli detention facilities.
Kim Ah-hyeon, however, claimed, "I was illegally abducted by Israel while sailing to Gaza and imprisoned." She said, "Our ship was among the last vessels to be seized. The IDF was extremely agitated at the time." She added, "By the time I was taken to prison, many people had already been beaten. I was also hit in the face several times, and I actually have difficulty hearing in my left ear."
Kim Dong-hyun, who returned with her, also claimed, "What Israel did to us was an unbearable level of violence: hijacking unarmed ships in international waters, torturing civilians and detaining them."
rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo

rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter