Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has claimed she was kidnapped in international waters by Israeli forces upon her arrival at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport after being deported from Israel.
“We were kidnapped in international waters,” she stated to reporters upon her arrival in Paris.
Ms. Thunberg emphasized, “This represents yet another deliberate violation of rights in the long list of abuses committed by Israel,” while noting that her experience was “nothing compared to what the Palestinians are enduring.”
The 22-year-old arrived in Paris just a day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza.
Israeli forces boarded the humanitarian vessel as it approached Gaza early yesterday, attempting to breach a long-standing naval blockade of the coastal area, and detained the crew of 12, including Ms. Thunberg.
She remarked that she did not recognize her entry into Israel as illegal and urged for the immediate release of the activists still detained in Israel.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry described those aboard what it referred to as the “selfie yacht” as having arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv “to depart from Israel and return to their home countries”.
“Those who decline to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be presented before a judicial authority,” it added.
Watch: Gaza-bound aid boat Madleen is intercepted by Israeli forces
A founder of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group operating the vessel, noted that there were 12 civilians onboard the ship.
Huwaida Arraf, a human rights attorney, stated they were navigating legally in international waters and that Israel has no authority to interfere with lawful, peaceful navigation in those waters.
During a segment on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland program, she said Israel abducted the 12 individuals, transported them to Israel, and is now alleging they entered unlawfully.
Ms. Arraf explained that civilians were informed prior to the journey that they could sign an agreement for deportation, while those who refuse would face an immigration judge. Yet, she added, all would ultimately face deportation.
“This is merely pro forma. There is no justice to be found in the Israeli legal system, so they will eventually be deported.”
She mentioned that another flotilla is being planned, with success contingent on ending the siege in Gaza.
Previously released video footage showed activists with their hands raised as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one individual confirming that no injuries occurred.
Turkey condemned the interception as a “heinous attack,” while Iran labeled it as “a form of piracy” in international waters.
In May, another ship from the Freedom Flotilla, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed toward Gaza, and activists alleged it was a result of an Israeli drone strike.
A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, resulted in the deaths of ten civilians.
On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the naval blockade, in effect long before the Israel-Hamas war, is crucial to prevent Palestinian militants from smuggling in weapons.
The Madleen was intercepted approximately 185km west of Gaza’s coast, according to coordinates provided by the coalition.
French President Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat “be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” according to a presidential official.
Among them are journalists Omar Fayyad from Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi from the online publication Blast, as reported by media rights organization Reporters Without Borders, which condemned their detention and called for their “immediate release.”
Al Jazeera “categorically denounces the Israeli incursion,” the network stated, demanding the release of the reporter.
Adalah, an Israeli NGO providing legal assistance to the country’s Arab minority, reported that the activists on board the Madleen had solicited its services, and it is likely they will be taken to a detention center before deportation.
Israel faces increasing pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate severe shortages of food and essential supplies.
In what organizers deemed a “symbolic act,” hundreds of individuals initiated a land convoy from Tunisia aimed at reaching Gaza.
Israel recently permitted some deliveries to resume after preventing them for over two months and is now collaborating with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
However, humanitarian agencies have criticized the GHF, and the United Nations has declined to cooperate with it, citing concerns regarding its neutrality and practices.
According to Gaza’s civil defense agency, dozens of individuals have died near GHF distribution points since late May.
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In Gaza City, displaced Palestinian Umm Mohammed Abu Namous expressed her hope that “all nations stand with us and support us, and that we receive ten boats instead of one.”
“We are innocent people,” she remarked. “Our children are starving … We do not want to lose more children to hunger.”
The Hamas attack in 2023, which instigated the war, resulted in over 1,200 fatalities on the Israeli side, primarily civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza reports that at least 54,800 individuals, mostly civilians, have lost their lives in the territory since the onset of the war. The UN regards these figures as credible.
Out of 251 individuals taken hostage during the Hamas assault, 54 remain captive in Gaza, with 32 identified by the Israeli military as deceased.
