Members of the ground version of the Gaza Sumud Flotilla (GSF) were arrested May 24 as they crossed into Libya and have been held in detention since then.

While Israel’s brief detention of the flotilla activists sparked international outrage, the world has kept mum about the detentions in Libya.

The group, which calls itself the Global Sumud Land Convoy with the aim of complementing the flotilla via a land incursion, released a statement saying that it had been forced to abort its effort in the face of local violence and arrests.

The GSF said that 200 activists had camped a few miles from the Sirte crossing into Libya when they were encircled by unmarked vehicles, physically assaulted and forced to evacuate. Ten of them were subsequently arrested when they attempted to negotiate with the Government of National Stability.

The GNS Foreign Ministry claimed the detentions were prompted by the activists’ failure to obtain proper entry permits, but insisted they were being treated in accordance with international humanitarian law. The ministry added that despite its sympathy with the cause, entry across the Libya-Egypt border is permitted only to citizens of those countries.

The GSF called on the activists’ countries of origin to intervene on behalf of their citizens, but critics who point to the double standards the international community has imposed on Israel say that if Israel is not involved, the activists will likely see little action taken to procure their freedom in a timely fashion.