Latest news with #MADLEEN
LeMonde
11-06-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
Campaigner Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden late on Tuesday, June 10, 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." Asked upon 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 UN has warned is at risk of famine.
LeMonde
10-06-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Boat for Gaza: La France Insoumise rallies support for Rima Hassan
Breaking the Israeli blockade was the goal of the MADLEEN sailboat crew, whose journey was cut short off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The 12 pro-Palestinian activists on board, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and MEP Rima Hassan of the left-wing France Insoumise party, were delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. During the night of June 8 to 9, Israeli naval commandos intercepted the vessel about 31 nautical miles from the Palestinian enclave, redirecting it to the port of Ashdod in southern Israel. During the day, while the 12 activists – six of whom are French – were handed over to Israeli police, the French embassy requested consular access to visit them to ensure their well-being and prepare for their prompt return to France. This marked the second time Hassan had been expelled from Israel: On February 25, she was denied entry upon arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport. While the humanitarian mission failed, the activists' communications campaign proved successful. This was especially true for Hassan, who had been at the forefront of the media battle since the boat departed Italy eight days earlier. At regular intervals, she provided updates on the expedition's progress while warning of alleged threats facing the vessel and its crew. This dramatic narrative received wide attention on social media and was supported by the entire La France Insoumise movement from the first days of the MADLEEN's journey toward Gaza.
LeMonde
09-06-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists has been diverted to Israel
Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists early Monday, June 9, and diverted it to Israel, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas. "The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,' the Foreign Ministry said in a social media post. "The passengers are expected to return to their home countries." It said the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels. It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and to protest Israel's blockade and wartime conduct, said the activists had been "kidnapped by Israeli forces" and released pre-recorded messages from them. Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the MADLEEN, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. After a two-and-a- half-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas , the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.
