Greta Thunberg says she was kidnapped in international waters, World News
PARIS — Greta Thunberg on Tuesday (June 10) accused Israel of kidnapping her and her fellow pro-Palestinian activists in international waters, saying she declined to sign a document stating she entered the country illegally prior to being deported.
Speaking in the arrivals section of Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport after being deported from Israel, the Swedish activist said she and her team had broken no laws, and called for the immediate release of the activists still in Israel.
"I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel," she said.
She laughed off criticism from US President Donald Trump, who had described her as an angry person, saying: "I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest, especially with everything going on right now."
Thunberg, 22, arrived in Paris a day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza.
Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through a years-old naval blockade of the coastal enclave, and seized the 12-strong crew, including Thunberg.
Thunberg denied her mission to deliver aid to Gaza by breaking through a years-old naval blockade of the coastal enclave was a PR stunt, saying a previous effort in a larger boat was ended after the vessel was bombed. She said she was now in desperate need of a shower and sleep.
She admitted it was unclear where she would be heading next, telling reporters it could be Sweden.
[[nid:718864]]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Humanitarian workers killed in Gaza bus ambush that Israel blames on Hamas
JERUSALEM/CAIRO - Israel accused Hamas militants of killing five Palestinians who worked for the U.S-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in an apparent effort to disrupt their food distribution operations. GHF said in a statement that one of its buses was ambushed late on Wednesday as it headed to an aid centre near the southern city of Khan Younis, carrying local men who worked alongside a U.S. team to deliver critical supplies. "Hamas murdered five humanitarian workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with others being kidnapped," said COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that coordinates humanitarian matters with the Palestinians. "The international community can not ignore Hamas's crimes against humanitarian workers," it added. Hamas declined to comment on the shootings. Social media channels in Gaza said Hamas had targeted the bus because it was allegedly carrying people affiliated with Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a large clan which has challenged Hamas's supremacy in the enclave and is being armed by Israel. Elsewhere in Gaza, the local health authority said at least 30 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Thursday, as the small coastal enclave continued to be roiled by violence and destruction. The IDF said it had killed three militants who fired an anti-tank missile towards Israeli soldiers. It also said it had arrested several Hamas members in Syria overnight, accusing them of planning to attack Israeli civilians and IDF forces. Israel has fought for more than 20 months to eliminate Hamas after it launched deadly attacks October 7, 2023 that ignited the war. All efforts to end the conflict through negotiations have failed. Despite the bus attack, GHF said it was continuing its distribution efforts on Thursday, handing out food boxes early at one of its sites, before shutting its gates there. CHAOS AND TERROR The GHF has handed out more than 16 million meals since it started operations in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of food distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 160 people have been killed by Israeli fire near the aid centres, as the aid effort repeatedly degenerated into chaos and terror with ravenous locals scrabbling for limited supplies. "This model will not address the deepening hunger. The dystopian 'Hunger Games' cannot become the new reality," Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), wrote on X. "The UN including @UNRWA have the knowledge, expertise & community trust to provide dignified & safe assistance. Just let the humanitarians do their jobs," he added. Israel has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be disbanded, accusing it of having ties with Hamas. UNRWA has denied this. Besides the GHF distribution effort, Israel is also letting into Gaza trucks carrying flour for the handful of bakeries that are still operating. For the first time in months, Israel allowed humanitarian trucks to enter northern Gaza directly overnight -- with 56 lorries carrying supplies from the U.N.'s World Food Programme crossing into the largely devastated region. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
31 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Egypt detains over 200 pro-Palestinian activists ahead of Gaza march: Organisers
The activists had planned to demand the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. PHOTO: REUTERS CAIRO - Egyptian authorities have detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists in Cairo ahead of a planned international march with the stated aim of breaking Israel's blockade on Gaza, the organisers said on J une 12 . 'Over 200 participants were detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels across Cairo,' the march's spokesperson Saif Abukeshek told AFP. He added that those detained included nationals from the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Morocco and Algeria. The activists had planned to travel to Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza, to demand the entry of humanitarian aid and an end to Israel's blockade on the besieged enclave. Mr Abukeshek said that plainclothes police entered hotels in Cairo on June 11 with lists of names, questioned activists and in some cases confiscated mobile phones and searched personal belongings. 'After interrogations, some were arrested and others were released,' he added. At a press conference on June 11 , organisers said that around 4,000 participants from more than 40 countries 'had booked flight tickets' to Cairo, with many already arriving ahead of the planned march on June 13 . According to the plan, participants are set to travel by bus to the city of El-Arish in the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula before walking 50km towards the border with Gaza. They would then camp there before returning to Cairo on June 19. Israel has called on Egyptian authorities 'to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border'. Such actions 'would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed', Defence Minister Israel Katz said. In response, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said that while it backs efforts to put 'pressure on Israel' to lift its blockade on Gaza, any foreign delegations visiting the border area must receive approval through official channels. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israeli ‘starvation' of Gaza a ‘war crime': Sweden
Sweden said the use of starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. PHOTO: AFP - Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points are causing civilians to starve, which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's Foreign Minister said on June 12 . In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime', while several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. 'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Life-saving humanitarian help must never be politicised or militarised,' S wedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. 'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she added. 'It is crucial that food, water and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions.' Sweden announced in December 2024 it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after Israel banned the organisation, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told the press conference on June 12 that Stockholm was now channelling aid through other UN organisations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza'. The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than one billion kronor (S$135 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
