Latest news with #Madleen
Chicago Tribune
16 minutes ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized
JERUSALEM — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. Speaking upon arrival in Paris en route to her home country of Sweden, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Madleen. She described a 'quite chaotic and uncertain' situation during the detention. The conditions they faced 'are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now,' she said. The trip was meant to protest Israeli restrictions on aid to Gaza's population of over 2 million people after 20 months of war, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey. 'We were well aware of the risks of this mission,' Thunberg said. 'The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.' She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump called Thunberg 'a young angry person' and recommended she take anger management classes. 'I think the world need a lot more young angry women,' Thunberg said Tuesday in response. Thunberg said it appeared she was headed back to Sweden, hadn't had access to a phone in a few days and wanted a shower. The activists were held separately and some had trouble accessing lawyers, she added. Asked why she agreed to deportation, she said, 'Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?' Thunberg called on supporters to ask their governments 'to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis.' She said recognizing Palestine is 'the very, very, very minimum' that governments can do to help. Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen. Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, along with rights groups, said Israel's actions in international waters were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge, saying such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza. Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the 'selfie yacht' with a 'meager' amount of aid that amounted to less than a truckload. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. It said it had encouraged some to do it so they could speak freely about their experiences. 'Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law,' the coalition said in a statement. Eight other passengers refused deportation and are being detained at Givon prison in Ramle. On Tuesday, Israeli authorities heard their cases at a detention tribunal. 'We argued today, and that also was emphasized by all the activists, that their goal is to enter humanitarian aid to Gaza, to end the famine and to end a genocide in Gaza,' said Lubna Tuma, a lawyer with legal rights group Adalah, who is representing the activists. 'Any violation or any prohibition to entering the humanitarian aid to Gaza is deepening the complicity of Israel in the famine in Gaza.' Legal representatives for the group said that because Israeli seized their vessel in international waters and forcibly transported them to Israeli territory, Israel had no authority to detain or deport them. Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. The others have a hearing with the judge and will be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was among the passengers. She has previously been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. It was not clear whether she was being immediately deported or detained. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said one of the detained French activists signed an expulsion order and would leave Tuesday. The other five refused. He said all the activists received consular visits. Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist, slammed Israel's actions after he arrived in Barcelona. 'It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters,' he told reporters. Palestinians in Gaza are now almost completely dependent on international aid. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's Palestinian population. During the 20-month-long war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine. Israel asserts that Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule. Hamas killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war and took 251 hostages, most released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said women and children make up most of the dead. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population.
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera journalist arrives in Paris after Israel deportation
NewsFeed Al Jazeera journalist arrives in Paris after Israel deportation Al Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad arrived in Paris after being deported by Israel for being aboard the 'Madleen', a ship that was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
IOL News
an hour ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Israel deports Greta Thunberg, bans her for 100 years after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg talks to journalists upon her arrival to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, as she left Israel on a flight to Sweden via France, after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat, on June 10 Image: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, France Israel deported campaigner Greta Thunberg on a flight to Sweden via France on Tuesday, after detaining her along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat. 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 to France ahead of a scheduled flight to Sweden. On arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, 22-year-old Thunberg 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. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 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 organisers 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. Dire humanitarian conditions Israel's interception of the Madleen, about 185 kilometres (115 miles) 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, Defence 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, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticised 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 defence agency. The UN'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 UN 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 neighbourhoods in the north of the Palestinian territory. The October 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 UN 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. AFP
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Aid ship seized by Israel named after Gaza's only fisherwoman, Madleen Kullab
The group of 12 activists were intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters on June 9, and later docked in Israel's port of Ashdod. Their vessel, the Madleen, was named after Gaza's only fisherwoman, Madleen Kullab. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Kullab said she had followed the humanitarian aid ship's voyage. Even though the activists did not reach Palestinian enclave, the mission gave Gazans 'hope that there are still people with us', Kullab said. 'It gave us strength and patience and made us feel that we weren't alone,' she added.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Greta Thunberg says she was ‘kidnapped' from Gaza aid boat by Israel
Greta Thunberg has spoken out following her deportation from Israel, accusing the country of committing an 'illegal act' by 'kidnapping' the 12 activists in international waters. The Madleen, a UK -flagged boat carrying a limited amount of humanitarian aid, was intercepted by Israel off the coast of Egypt on Monday (9 June). Some of the passengers have been deported whilst others remain in Israel. Speaking to reporters after landing in Paris on Tuesday (10 June), the climate change campaigner dismissed videos of Israel giving food to the The Freedom Flotilla Coalition activists onboard the vessel as a 'PR stunt'. 'We were illegally attacked and kidnapped by Israel and taken against our will there where we were detained,' said Thunberg. 'Some of us have been deported but some are still there.'
