GRETA THUNBERG DEPORTED AFTER GAZA FLOTILLA PROTEST
Greta Thunberg has landed in France more than 24 hours after Israel had captured the Gaza-bound British-flagged boat ‘Madleen’.
The Swedish activist was among 12 activists on board the vessel, carrying aid for starving Palestinians, who are being deported to their home countries.
In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Ms Thunberg on a plane earlier today.
Thunberg set sail on the Madleen boat on June 1 along with other activists from France, Ireland, Italy and more. The group were snatched by Israel while in international waters.
After being taken to an Israeli prison for migrants, the flotilla activists have reportedly been taken to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport to be deported.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said: ‘Some of the “Selfie Yacht” passengers are expected to leave within the next few hours.
‘Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorise their deportation.’
Representatives from each of the activists’ home countries met with them, it has been reported. Most are expected to appear in court in Ashdod, Israel.
The activists were shown a video of the October 7 attacks before being deported, according to Israeli media, but refused to watch the footage.
Their detainment has sparked international outrage, with many pointing out it’s illegal under international law to interfere with freedom of navigation and to block aid.
In March, Israel announced they were blocking all goods and supplies from entering Gaza, sparking a famine within the strip.
‘Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time.
'Israel overreacted' as always, expert tells Metro
Yossi Mekelberg, international relations professor and fellow at Chatham House, told Metro the Madleen was never going to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but its importance can’t be understated.
‘People bring attention to something by taking an unconventional approach, but Israel, as always, overreacted,’ he said.
‘The flotilla was never meant to solve the situation in Gaza, but it’s good attention on the subject.’
Mr Mekelberg added that it was ‘ridiculous’ for Israel to force the activists to watch the video about the October 7 attacks.
‘There is no punishment in a democracy where you force people to watch a video. It’s like torture to watch that video,’ he said. The video contains graphic footage of rapes and murders which occured during the massacre which killed 1,200 and saw more taken hostage.
‘Whoever came up with that idiotic idea to make them watch the video, what use was it? If they wanted to do something reasonable, they could offer them a visit to the Kibbutz attacked on October 7,’ Mekelberg argued.
‘Ultimately, the only punishment for Greta is that she’s flying economy and not business class.’
The media firestorm around the flotilla comes as in the UK, more than 300 Foreign Office staff who raised concerns about UK ‘complicity’ in Gaza were told they could consider resigning.
A staff letter was sent to David Lammy last month, detailing concerns about Israel’s involvement in Gaza.
A reply was sent from Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, reading: ‘If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service. This is an honourable course.’
What is the Freedom Flotilla Coalition?
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The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a group of people working across the world to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
The organisation, which was founded in 2015, have been involved in several missions before.
In 2015, the Freedom Flotilla III set sail from Athens and planned to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, but was intercepted by the Israeli navy around 100 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza.
A year later, a crew of 26 women set sail in 2016 to highlight the struggle of women in Gaza.
It was divided into three legs: Barcelona to Ajaccio, Ajaccio to Messina, and Messina to Gaza. Each leg was crewed by thirteen volunteers with several members alternating at different legs of the voyage.
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2025-06-10T07:08:21Z