Jakarta. The government said Friday that the 9 Indonesian activists once captured by Israeli forces would land in Jakarta this weekend.

Israel recently deported all flotilla activists, including 9 Indonesians, following a global outrage. The Indonesians transited to the Turkish city of Istanbul first before making their way back home. Heni Hamidah, the director for citizen protection at the Foreign Ministry, told the Jakarta Globe that they would return soon.

“If God is willing, the volunteers can return home once they finish the entire process in Istanbul. We hope they will arrive [in Jakarta] on Sunday afternoon,” Heni said via text.

Earlier this week, Israel captured hundreds of foreign activists at sea when they made a string of attempts to bring life-saving aid into the war-battered Gaza. These detainees were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0. The Israeli navy had intercepted previous flotilla attempts.

Tel-Aviv finally released the activists on Thursday after a video of Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir fueled global outcry. In a self-uploaded video, Ben Gvir was seen taunting the hand-tied activists who were kneeling on the ground. 

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono has said that the “inhumane treatment of the activists” would constitute “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”, while slamming it as “intolerable”. 

Jakarta had pursued “all diplomatic channels” to free the activists as it stayed away from engaging in direct contact with Israel. This includes communicating with Turkey and Jordan, whose citizens are among the detainees.

Long a staunch supporter of Palestinian statehood, Indonesia does not have official diplomatic ties with Israel.

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