‘We did nothing wrong': Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of kidnapping yacht crew

The Guardian

2 days ago

Hours after being deported from Israel, Greta Thunberg accused the country of kidnapping her and her fellow activists in international waters, adding that she had refused to sign a document stating that she had entered Israel illegally.
Speaking to reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the Swedish campaigner stressed that she and others on a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel on Monday had simply been attempting to bring much-needed aid to the war-torn territory.
'We were 12 peaceful volunteers sailing on a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid on international waters,' Thunberg said. 'We did not break laws. We did nothing wrong.'
The UK-flagged Madleen vessel was seized by Israeli authorities on Monday about 125 miles (200km) off the coast of Gaza, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage. It was towed to the port of Ashdod, where the crew, which also included the French MEP Rima Hassan, were taken into police custody. Some remain in Israel, where they will face deportation hearings.
The ship had been attempting to bring a symbolic shipment of aid to Gaza, which has been pushed to the brink of famine after more than 11 weeks of total siege and severe restrictions that continue to limit the entry of food into the territory.
Dozens of people have been killed while trying to collect food from the handful of sites run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are secured by armed guards and under the protection of the Israeli military. As the prospect of famine looms, questions have swirled over the foundation's capacity to deliver aid.
Thunberg, 22, said on Tuesday that the conditions the crew had faced were 'absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now', but said she was 'very worried' about her fellow crew members and called for their immediate release.
'I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel,' she said. 'This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing.'
The stance was echoed by Sergio Toribio, a fellow crew member who was deported to Spain on Tuesday. 'It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters,' he told reporters after arriving in Barcelona.
Amnesty International also weighed in, with the organisation's secretary general noting that the interception of the Madleen in international waters 'violates international law'. In a statement, Agnès Callamard added: 'The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission, they must be released immediately and unconditionally.'
Since Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza in 2007, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have made several attempts to carry aid to Gaza.
In May, one of their Gaza-bound ships was damaged in international waters off Malta, with crew members issuing an SOS after what they described as an attack by Israeli drones. Israel's military declined to comment.
In 2010, nine activists were killed when Israeli commandos raided a small fleet of ships trying to ferry supplies, including building materials, to Gaza.
Thunberg said she hadn't been able to say goodbye to the rest of the crew, and that it was 'unclear' why she had been deported while other crew members remained detained.
Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing several of the crew members, said eight other passengers had refused deportation and were being held in detention as they waited for their cases to be heard by Israeli authorities
The crew had previously been disparaged by Israeli officials, with the foreign ministry labelling the vessel as the 'selfie yacht' when it announced its seizure.
On Tuesday, officials shared photos of Thunberg, a climate activist who has long shunned air travel, being boarded on to a flight to France.
Speaking after her arrival in Paris, Thunberg said the Gaza-bound ship had been a response to what she described as the 'systematic starvation of over 2 million people and the full-blown, livestream genocide'.
While aid was critically needed in Gaza, the voyage had also been driven by a broader aim, she said. 'Also to send solidarity and say that we see you, we see what is happening and we cannot accept just witnessing all this and doing nothing.'
Thunberg, who said it appeared she was now heading back to Sweden, also hit back at Donald Trump after she was asked about his characterisation of her as an 'angry person' and suggestion that she should take anger management classes.
'I think the world needs many more young angry women, to be honest,' said Thunberg. 'Especially with everything going on right now. That's the thing we need the most of.'