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Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Greta Thunberg 'freedom flotilla' crewmate describes 'mistreatment' he claims she and her colleagues suffered while held by Israel - including bizarre 'dancing'
Greta Thunberg was 'mistreated' by Israeli officials after security forces stormed the 'freedom flotilla' boat she was travelling on and detained the crew, an activist who was on board the Gaza-bound ship has claimed. Baptiste Andre told French media that 'there were acts of mistreatment' when Israeli authorities brought the group to the port of Ashdod to be processed. The French doctor, who was one of the 12 people on board the British-flagged humanitarian ship Madleen, said that there had been 'no acts of physical violence' against the group. However he 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. Thunberg, who also arrived back in Europe on a deportation flight, 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'. Thunberg and Andre were among four who agreed to be deported immediately, with lawyers while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement. The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, rights group Adalah added. The activist group had set off from Catania in Italy on June 1 aboard the Madleen carrying what they called a 'symbolic' amount food and supplies for Gaza, the entire population of which the UN has warned is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday, allegedly shadowing the vessel with speedboats and drones before 'quadcopters' surrounded and sprayed the ship with an unidentified 'white irritant substance'. Images showed the deck of the charity vessel splattered with white liquid. Activist Yasmin Acar, among those on board, said it had been deployed by Israel and was affecting her eyes. 'Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,' the coalition wrote on Telegram. Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, told Al Jazeera that crew members had said their eyes were burning from the substance. 'We don't know what that chemical was. Some people reported that their eyes were burning,' they said. The IDF seized the ship and towed it to the port of Ashdod, where it took those on board to be processed before taking four to the airport to be deported. '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.' Thunberg landed in Sweden at around 10.30pm Tuesday night after a brief stop in France following her deportation from Israel. She was welcomed at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm by dozens of people waving Palestinian flags, who presented her with flowers and a keffiyeh scarf as they shouted 'free Palestine!' Thunberg yesterday vowed to return to the country despite the restrictions apparently placed on her. Asked in if she was scared when the security forces boarded the Madleen sailboat, Thunberg replied: 'What I'm afraid of is that people are silent during an ongoing genocide.' 'What I feel most is concern for the continued violations of international law and war crimes that Israel is guilty of.' She accused Israel of carrying out a 'systematic genocide' and 'systematic starvation of over two million people' in Gaza. Several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza but Israel vehemently rejects the term. 'We must act, we must demand that our government acts, and we must act ourselves when our complicit governments do not step up,' Thunberg said. She rose to fame as a schoolgirl activist against climate change and seeks to avoid flying because of its environmental impact, going so far as to cross the Atlantic by sailboat twice. Thunberg vowed that they 'would not stop' trying to help and promised that 'this is not the end.' She told journalists shortly after landing in Paris: 'What is certain is that we will not stop. 'We are going to continue try to do everything we can because that is the promise that we have given to to Palestinians. 'We are going to try every single day in every way that we can and keep trying to demand an end to the atrocities.' Earlier in the day, Thunberg accused Israel of 'kidnapping' her in international waters, a claim she made previously in a dramatic pre-recorded SOS message released shortly after her detention. The activist, who has long eschewed air travel for environment reasons, was photographed on board an aircraft en route to France earlier on Tuesday - a moment that Israel's Foreign Ministry was quick to publicise, posting the image on social media platform X. Prior to her deportation, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he'd instructed IDF officials to show the activists the full, unedited footage of the October 7 attacks as recorded by Hamas terrorist body cameras. 'It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself,' he said. Late on Monday night, he told reporters: 'Greta and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival to the screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre... when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching. 'The anti-Semitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children.' Thunberg joined 11 activists in sailing to the Gaza Strip with a 'symbolic' amount of aid Katz and other Israeli officials have come under fire for branding Thunberg and her fellow activists 'anti-Semitic' for wanting to deliver aid to starving Gazans. But Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said: 'This wasn't humanitarian aid. It's Instagram activism... 'Who's really feeding Gaza and who's really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself.' Meanwhile, the French government revealed that five of the six French citizens detained alongside Thunberg had refused to sign deportation orders, meaning they will now face judicial proceedings. US President Donald Trump did not miss the opportunity to wade in on the controversy. 'I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg. She's a young, angry person... I think she has to go to an anger management class,' he said.
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Greta Thunberg deported from Israel after Gaza-bound aid boat was intercepted
was deported from Israel on Tuesday morning after her 'freedom flotilla' was intercepted by the IDF. The crew on board the Madleen, who had planned to sail to Gaza to deliver aid, were scooped up by Israeli Navy boats before they reached shore and towed to the port of Ashdod. Eight of the 12 activists refused to sign deportation papers and are being detained pending a court hearing. Thunberg and three others signed the papers and were flown out. Thunberg was flown to the Charles De Gaulle Airport alongside French activists and will then head home to her native Sweden. 'I do more good outside of Israel than if I am forced to stay here for a few weeks,' she said, according to Moatasem Zedan, a spokesperson for the human rights group Adalah who is providing legal representation to the activists. Israel's Foreign Ministry shared a photo of the disgruntled 22-year-old sitting on board the plane moments before the flight departed Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Prior to her deportation, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he'd instructed IDF officials to show the activists the full, unedited footage of the October 7 attacks as recorded by Hamas terrorist body cameras. He said: 'It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself.' However, he told reporters: 'Greta and her companions were taken into a room upon their arrival to the screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre... when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching. 'The anti-Semitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children.' Katz and other Israeli officials have come under fire for branding Thunberg and her fellow activists 'anti-Semitic' for wanting to deliver aid to starving Gazans. But Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said: 'This wasn't humanitarian aid. It's Instagram activism... 'Who's really feeding Gaza and who's really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself.' The voyage of the Madleen from the Italian island of Sicily to Gaza was planned by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), an organization founded shortly after October 7, 2023 to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The activists had set out to protest Israel's military campaign in the territory, which it claims amounts to genocide, and Israel's restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Israel's military operations and aid blockades have put the territory of around two million Palestinians at risk of famine. The FFC said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid on Monday. A statement read: 'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted and its life-saving cargo - including baby formula, food and medical supplies - confiscated.' It added the ship was seized in international waters about 120 miles from Gaza, and Adalah asserted that Israel had 'no legal authority' to take it over. The Madleen was said to have been shadowed by speedboats and drones before 'quadcopters' surrounded and sprayed the ship with an unidentified 'white irritant substance', shortly before the IDF seized it. Israel's Foreign Ministry meanwhile has portrayed the voyage as nothing more than a publicity stunt, referring to the Madleen as 'the selfie yacht'.
ABC News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Israel is accused of seizing the Madleen in international waters. Can it do that?
Israel has been accused of "kidnapping" a ship crewed by international activists when it detained them in an early morning raid on Monday. The ship, dubbed the Madleen, was carrying aid for the people of Gaza, including baby formula and food. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the ship, claimed the activists, which included climate protester Greta Thunberg, were detained while sailing through international waters. Israel says the action was a necessary action to enforce the naval blockade of the territory it maintains. Here's a look at the legal debate. Here's a quick recap of the Madleen's journey. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition boat set sail from Italy on June 1 in an attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver aid to the territory by sailing to Gaza's shores in defiance of Israeli control. The ship was intercepted by Israeli forces early Monday, and the crew was taken to Israel. Israeli media reported the ship docked in Ashdod Port, about halfway between the Gaza Strip and Israel's major population centre of Tel Aviv, almost 18 hours after it was seized. Israel's foreign ministry said the Madleen's passengers underwent medical examinations "to ensure they are in good health" after they made landing. A statement released by the foreign ministry later said all of the Madleen's crew members had been taken to Ben Gurion Airport to "depart Israel and return to their home countries". According to international law, countries can claim some area of sea as their own territory — anything up to 12 nautical miles (19 kilometres) from their own coastlines. Ships and their crews are subject to a nation's laws when sailing in its territorial seas. When ships go beyond those areas, they reach international waters — also known as the high seas — and are no longer under any nation's jurisdiction. That doesn't mean the high seas are lawless, though. These neutral areas are regulated by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and are open to use by all countries for legitimate activities. It means nations generally don't have the right to seize ships in international waters, but there are some exceptions, including if there are suspicions of piracy or during armed conflict. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has claimed the Madleen was in international waters, about 200 kilometres off the coast of Gaza, when Israel intercepted the boat. Exactly where the ship was stopped could not be independently verified, and Israeli authorities have not disclosed the location, though they did not dispute the FFC's characterisation of the location. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition argues Israel had no right to take the crew to land because the ship hadn't entered the nation's territory and posed no military threat. "We're basically talking about people who were sailing in the international waters, and then Israel basically captured them and abducted them into Israel," Freedom Flotilla lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih said. "The situation we're talking about now is a situation that Israel brought those people inside of Israel, and now they want to deport them based on the claims that they entered Israel illegally." Israel hasn't disputed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's claim that the Madleen was intercepted in international waters. Its justification for stopping the boat hinges around an exception to the maritime law, which would allow some "militarily justified" actions. Essentially, Israel says it was defending a legitimate naval blockade of Gaza and was responding to the Freedom Flotilla's stated intention to breach it. "The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorized vessels under a legal naval blockade, consistent with international law," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement released before the Madleen was intercepted. "The Gaza maritime zone remains an active conflict area, and Hamas has previously exploited sea routes for terrorist attacks, including the October 7th massacre. "Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts." Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) senior lawyer Eran Shamir-Borer argued Israel was acting lawfully in defending its blockade of Gaza. "Once a naval blockade has been imposed there is a right, even an obligation, to enforce it," he told the ABC on Tuesday. "Enforcing could be done not just with respect to an actual breach of such a blockade, but also if it is an attempted breach. "An attempted breach could be decided by way of the intention, declared intentions, stated intentions of those involved in the flotilla, those on board the vessel, and then you could just enforce this also on the high seas, actually from the moment when they have made their intentions clear that they want to breach a lawful naval blockade." Israel's justification for intercepting the Madleen relies on its naval blockade also being considered legal. Douglas Guilfoyle, a professor of international law and security at UNSW, said it would be illegal for a nation to attempt to enforce an illegal blockade. A United Nations inquiry in 2011 found Israel was allowed to impose the measure to protect its security but experts and humanitarian organisations argue the nature of the blockade has changed. According to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, which sets out customary international law on naval conflicts, a blockade may be used during conflicts if: While Dr Guilfoyle said the point at which any given blockade becomes illegal is contentious, it was his opinion it was "clear cut" Israel's was no longer lawful. "In my view, the primary purpose of the blockade became starvation of the civilian population, at the latest, when the government of Israel declared on March 2 that it was halting all entry of all goods and supplies to Gaza until Hamas resumed negotiations and releasing hostages," he said. "From this time, there has been a declared government policy of using starvation as a weapon of war that makes the blockade illegal until adequate supplies enter Gaza." Amnesty International says Israel has an obligation to ensure Palestinians have enough access to humanitarian supplies. Amnesty and other groups see the seizure of the Madleen as part of a campaign by Israel to limit or entirely deny aid in Gaza. Israel's aid policy during the war has driven the territory toward famine, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has alleged. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused by the ICC of using starvation as a method of warfare by restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza, charges he has rejected. Israel argues it has allowed enough aid to enter Gaza and instead accuses Hamas of siphoning it off. Dr Guilfoyle said it was up to individual members of the United Nations to call out illegal acts as they see them. "International law is a system without central enforcement," he said. "There is not always an international court capable of hearing a particular case." He said with regards to the ongoing conflict, the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction only extends to events occurring in the Palestinian territories. "While the international Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has ruled on similar cases, it only binds parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and Israel is not a member of that convention," Dr Guilfoyle added. The ship was manned by a crew of 12 volunteers, including a politician, a journalist, and high-profile activists. Here are their names and home countries: Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian woman, serves as a member of European Parliament for France, while Omar Faiad is a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher. ABC/AP
Japan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
Campaigner Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden late Tuesday, after Israel detained her and other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and deported some. Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately, while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement. The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, rights group Adalah said. "The state asked the tribunal to keep the activists in custody until their deportation," Adalah said, adding that under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders can be held for 72 hours before forcible removal. Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod. They then transferred them to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said, from where Thunberg flew first to France then Sweden. Thunberg, 22, accused Israel of "kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel." "This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing," she said at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Asked on arrival in Stockholm if she was scared when Israeli security forces boarded the sailboat, Thunberg replied: "What I'm afraid of is that people are silent during an ongoing genocide." Four French activists who were also aboard the Madleen were set to face an Israeli judge, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. He had earlier posted on X that five would face court action and only one would depart voluntarily. Barrot told reporters that French diplomats had met with the six French nationals in Israel, and that French-Palestinian European MP Rima Hassan was among those who refused to leave voluntarily. The activists, from France, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands, aimed to deliver humanitarian aid and break the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. In what organizers called a "symbolic act," hundreds of participants in a land convoy crossed the border into Libya from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza, whose entire population the U.N. has warned is at risk of famine. Israel's interception of the Madleen, about 185 kilometers west of Gaza, was condemned by Turkey as a "heinous attack," while Iran denounced it as "a form of piracy" in international waters. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists blaming an Israeli drone attack. A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade of Gaza, left 10 civilians dead. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place since well before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticized the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defense agency. The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Tuesday that in Gaza's north, "Israeli military operations have intensified in recent days, with mass casualties reported." An independent United Nations commission said on Tuesday that Israeli attacks on schools, religious and cultural sites in Gaza amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of seeking to exterminate Palestinians. "In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination," the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a report. AFP has contacted Israeli authorities for comment on the report but has yet to receive a response. The Israeli military said it intercepted a projectile on Tuesday that had entered Israeli airspace from Gaza. It later called for residents to evacuate several neighborhoods in the north of the Palestinian territory. The Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,981 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The U.N. considers these figures reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘We did nothing wrong': Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of kidnapping yacht crew
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.'
