Awkward moment Greta Thunberg covers her head as she is flown out of Israel after failed bid to reach Gaza - and pilot praises IDF and wishes for the return of all hostages over the tanoy

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Greta Thunberg appeared to cover her head with her coat as she was flown out of Israel after she and other activists attempted to reach Gaza on a 'freedom flotilla' aid ship.
Passengers filmed and took pictures of Thunberg as she was being deported by Israeli authorities on Tuesday, a day after Israeli forces detained her and a crew of 11 others in international waters.
The 22-year-old looked disheveled and tired as she sat at the back of the El Al jet from Ben Gurion to Paris, with a picture showing her putting her blue waterproof jacket on her head.
A video clip circulating online appears to show her with the coat pulled all the way down over her face at another point in the journey.
In a separate clip shared on social media, apparently from the same flight, a member of airline staff can be heard praising the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
'We want to thank our security forces and the IDF for protecting our homeland and wish for the swift return of all hostages,' the voice, said to belong to the pilot, is heard saying. The announcement was met with cheers from passengers.
The footage of Thunberg covering her face emerged after a campaigner who was detained alongside the prominent activist claimed that Israeli officials had deprived her of sleep during her time in detention.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said in response to the footage that Thunberg was 'exhausted' during the flight and was trying to rest when the video was taken.
Thunberg and 11 other activists on the Madleen ship, who had planned to sail to Gaza to deliver aid, were intercepted by Israeli Navy boats in international waters in the early hours of Monday.
The group was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where four, including Thunberg, agreed to be deported immediately.
'I did not recognize I entered Israel illegally,' Thunberg told reporters when she landed in Paris on Tuesday. 'We were kidnapped in international waters... this is a violation of international rights.'
All of the activists have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that represents them said in a statement.
The eight who were not deported were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, rights group Adalah added.
A spokesman for the FFC today commented on the footage of Thunberg on the plane: 'Greta was exhausted by the arrest and detention and wanted to rest peacefully, even though she had an uncomfortable seat.
'During the detention she could hardly sleep, the Israelis woke her up every time she fell asleep,' they added. 'The clip is vague and apart from the focus on her head, it shows nothing.'
Thunberg, who arrived in France on the deportation flight before travelling home to Sweden, told reporters yesterday that 'people were not being treated well' during her detention.
'I was not able to to say goodbye to people and I don't know what's happening. And there were many, many issues,' she said.
Pressed for details on her treatment, she described the experience as 'very dehumanising.
'But of course, I have to stress nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through. I would prefer not to go into detail,' she insisted.
She went on: 'I do know that there were major issues with people actually getting to talk to lawyers.
'When you look at the state of the world, everything feels meaningless. But unless you try to do everything you can, we lose our hope.'
Asked by reporters about a viral picture of her smiling as an Israeli soldier offered her a sandwich when the boat was intercepted, Thunberg branded the gesture a PR stunt.
Israel had shared pictures of the crew receiving sandwiches and water from soldiers, and said the crew were 'safe and unharmed'.
Fellow activist Baptiste Andre, who also returned on the deportation flight on Tuesday, told French media that 'there were acts of mistreatment' when Israeli authorities brought the group to the port of Ashdod.
The French doctor said that there had been 'no acts of physical violence' against his team, but claimed that members of the group, 'especially Greta', were put through 'sleep deprivation' and experienced 'mockery' from officials.
'As soon as [Thunberg] fell asleep, the immigration services came to wake her up,' he said.
He added that music was also 'turned up loud' and that members of the immigration services 'danced in front of us'.
Andre also alleged that the group had 'difficulties in accessing water and food' during their more than 24 hours in detention.
'It took three hours to get a piece of bread,' he said, adding that the detainees had difficulty accessing food, water and toilets.
Andre has since returned to France after being deported from Israel by plane on Tuesday.
Israel is expected to expel four of the eight activists still in the country to France by the end of the week, the French foreign minister said Wednesday.
An Israeli NGO earlier said that one of the French campaigners, along with a Brazilian activist, was briefly put in solitary confinement during their detention.
Rima Hassan, a member of European Parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party who is of Palestinian descent, was placed in solitary confinement, as was Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, with Hassan later removed, Israeli human rights group Adalah said.
'Israeli authorities transferred two of the volunteers, the Brazilian volunteer Thiago Avila and the French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan – to separate prison facilities, away from the others, and placed them in solitary confinement,' Adalah said in a statement.