JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, the country’s Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
Thunberg left on a flight to France and was then headed to her home country of Sweden, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X. It posted a photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who shuns air travel, seated on a plane.
Speaking upon arrival at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a “quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during the detention.
She said the conditions they faced “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now.”
Thunberg calls on supporters to mobilize
“We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” Thunberg said from the Paris airport. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.” She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza.
Thunberg said it appears she is headed back to Sweden, hasn’t had access to a phone in a few days, and wants a shower. The activists were held separately and some had trouble accessing lawyers, she added. Asked why she agreed to deportation, she said, “Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?”
Thunberg called on supporters to ask their governments to mobilize “to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis.”
She said recognizing Palestine is “the very, very, very minimum” that governments can do to help.
She was escorted by police out of the terminal, carrying no bags, as a few supporters applauded.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza that was meant to protest Israel’s ongoing war there and shed light on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey.
Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off of Gaza’s coast, according to the coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel’s actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza.
The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening.
Other activists face deportation
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. It said it had encouraged some of the group to do this so they could speak freely about their experiences.
Eight other passengers refused deportation and were being held in detention before their case is to be heard by Israeli authorities. Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said the eight were expected to be brought before a court later Tuesday.
“Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law,” the coalition said in a statement. It called for the remaining passengers to be released without deportation and said their lawyers would demand that they be allowed to complete their journey to Gaza.
Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and will be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the passengers on board the Madleen. She has previously been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. It was not clear whether she was being immediately deported or detained.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists signed an expulsion order and will leave Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused. He said all the activists received consular visits.
Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was deported, slammed Israel’s actions after he arrived in Barcelona.
“It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters,” he told reporters.
Questions over a breach of international law
On Monday, Adalah, the rights group, said that Israel had “no legal authority” to take over the ship, because the group said it was in international waters and it was headed not to Israel but to the “territorial waters of the state of Palestine.”
“The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law,” Adalah said in a statement.
Amnesty International said Israel was flouting international law with the naval raid and called on Israel to release the activists immediately and unconditionally.
Israel said its actions were consistent with international law.
Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the “selfie yacht” with a “meager” amount of aid that amounted to less than a truckload.
“This was nothing but a ridiculous gimmick. A publicity stunt and nothing more,” said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. “In any case — it is our intention to deliver to Gaza the tiny amount of aid on the yacht that they did not consume.”
A longstanding blockade of Gaza
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.
During the 20-month-long war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine. Israel says Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war and took 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said that women and children make up most of the dead.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory’s population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.
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