Greta Thunberg and Madleen crew face deportation from Israel after Gaza aid boat intercepted
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists detained on board a vessel attempting to transport aid to Gaza have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said on Tuesday.
The group departed Italy on June 1 on board the Madleen, saying they would break the Israeli siege on the enclave and deliver supplies. Israeli forces intercepted their boat in international waters on Monday and took it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Israeli authorities described their mission as a celebrity stunt on a "selfie yacht".
"The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X. "Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority."
The ministry added that consuls from their home countries met the activists at the airport.
Organisers the Freedom Flotilla Coalition put out a statement saying the crew were being "processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities".
"They are expected to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility unless they agree to leave immediately, in which case they may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight," it said, calling for their immediate release.
Adalah, a legal rights group representing the activists, said the boat was intercepted in international waters, where Israel has no legal jurisdiction. It said it had sent a letter to Israeli authorities demanding information on their whereabouts. "Adalah will pursue legal actions to secure the activists' safety and release," it said.
Many of the crew are French. President Emmanuel Macron called for consular protection for the group and the repatriation of the French citizens.
"Most of all, France calls for a ceasefire as quickly as possible and the lifting of the humanitarian blockade. This is a scandal, unacceptable, that is playing out in Gaza. What's been happening since early March is a disgrace, a disgrace," Mr Macron said.
Israel has faced mounting international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN has warned the entire population faces famine. It imposed an aid blockade on the besieged enclave on March 2 and has only relaxed it in recent days.
The Madleen yacht was carrying a small amount of humanitarian aid, including rice, baby formula and medical supplies, in a symbolic voyage in protest at the blockade. Crew members said they were unarmed civilians who posed no threat.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the aid on board would be taken to Gaza. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
A previous yacht, Conscience, attempted the same voyage in May until it was halted by a drone strike that organisers blamed on Israel.
As well as Ms Thunberg, the crew of the Madleen includes French politician Rima Hassan, who is of Palestinian descent, and other volunteers from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Brazil and Turkey.
Mr Katz said he instructed the military to show the activists videos from the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel carried out by Hamas. "It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organisation is they came to support and for whom they are working," he said.
However, Mr Katz said that after the activists were taken to a room to view the footage, they refused to watch it.
In a separate effort, hundreds of people on Monday launched a land convoy from Tunisia bound for Gaza, with which activists similarly aim to "break the siege" on the territory.
Organisers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza but aimed at carrying out a "symbolic act" in support of the enclave. The "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, by the end of the week.
It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits.
Twenty months into the Gaza war, negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked. A brief truce collapsed in March and Israel has since intensified operations to 'destroy' the Palestinian group.
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