Israel To Deport Greta Thunberg To Athens On Monday
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, with 70 other people of different nationalities, will leave Israel on Monday after they were seized aboard on Gaza aid Global Sumud Flotilla. Those sent out of Israel on Monday include 28 French citizens, 27 Greeks, 15 Italians, and 9 Swedish citizens.
Most of those being released from Israeli detention will be sent to Greece, where they will be flown to their home countries, as per the respective governments of the activists.
The release still leaves several other activists in Israeli custody, including 28 Spanish nationals.
Read also: Greta Thunberg ‘Dragged, Forced To Kiss Israel Flag’: Activists Allege Mistreatment During Detention
These activists were on board the 42-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla carrying activists and politicians, who had been aiming to break the Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold, which Israel rejects.
Israel intercepted the ships in international waters on Wednesday, detaining more than 470 people aboard the boats.
The Italian and Greek foreign ministers said that the released nationals would fly from Israel on Monday to Athens.
A total of 170 flotilla activists have been deported so far. Those who remain are being held in Ketziot prison, which their legal representation has described as substandard living conditions.
Whereas, Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said, “They (Flotilla activists) should feel what the conditions in Ketziot Prison are like and think twice before approaching Israel again. That’s how it works.”
A Turkish activist described the abuse against the climate campaigner Greta Thunberg during Israel’s raid on the Global Sumud Flotilla. “They dragged Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others”, the flotilla participant told Turkish agency.
On Sunday, as per the Times of Israel report, a Spanish activist bit a medical staff member in the prison. The activist was being escorted from a routine medical examination, as part of preparations for her deportation, which was initially scheduled on Monday morning.
The Global Sumud Flotilla activists who have been detained by the Israeli authorities declared a hunger strike. Activists under Israeli detention include French politician Emma Fourreau, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, and TRT journalist Sumeyya Sena Polat.
