Greta Thunberg and other activists are sailing toward the Gaza Strip on a sailing ship. The Israeli army stops the"Madleen" just before the exclusion zone in the Mediterranean and forces it to turn around. The passengers are supposed to return home and depart from Ben Gurion Airport.
Israel has stopped the Gaza aid ship "Madleen," with activist Greta Thunberg on board, before it entered the Gaza Strip."The 'celebrities' selfie yacht is on its way to Israel's shores," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Monday online, adding that the sailing ship would be diverted"in complete safety." The passengers were unharmed and safe. They were offered sandwiches and water."The show is over," the Foreign Ministry wrote in a video showing the activists in orange life jackets. The plan is for the activists to return home.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry later announced that the ship was now anchored in Israel."The tiny amount of aid on the yacht that was not consumed by the 'celebrities' is now being brought to the Gaza Strip through legitimate aid channels," it added.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the organization responsible for the Madleen's voyage, had previously stated on the Telegram messaging service that the Israeli army had stopped the sailing ship and"abducted" its crew. Contact with the sailing ship and its crew had been lost.
Shortly before, the Israeli Navy had already communicated with the"Madleen" and asked the crew to change course as the ship approached the restricted area. In a post on X, the ministry referred to the ship as a"selfie yacht" and shared a video of a female officer apparently speaking to the crew via radio. In a previous post, the Foreign Ministry had already dismissed the sailing vessel as a"celebrity yacht."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had previously ordered the army not to allow the sailing ship carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists to enter the Gaza Strip."The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip," Katz said in a statement. He ordered the armed forces to prevent the arrival of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship"Madleen."
Addressing Thunberg, a Swedish woman, and the eleven other activists on board, Katz said:"You should turn back, because you will not reach Gaza." Katz described the people on board as "left-wing extremist activists." Israel will take action against any attempt to break the naval blockade. The naval blockade was introduced in 2007 after Hamas seized power. Its purpose is to prevent arms deliveries to Hamas, Katz said.
The activist group said it wanted to deliver relief supplies such as baby food and medical supplies to the people in need in the Gaza Strip. Thunberg and other activists have repeatedly emphasized that there were no weapons on board. At the same time, they wanted to use the action to draw international attention to the humanitarian situation there.
The"Madleen" set sail from Sicily a week ago. According to the coalition, twelve activists were on board, including Thunberg and Yasemin Acar from Germany. On Sunday afternoon, they were reportedly north of the Egyptian coast and less than 300 kilometers from their destination. In videos on Instagram, they accused Israel of jamming their communications devices and thus preparing to intercept the ship or even attack it.
Several hours after stopping at sea, the"Madleen" was to be towed to the port of the Israeli city of Ashdod. Protesters gathered at the port of the southern Israeli city to welcome the activists. According to Defense Minister Israel Katz, the activists were to be shown video footage of the atrocities committed by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023. In a strongly worded statement, he called Thunberg an"anti-Semite" and the activists "her friends – the Hamas supporters."
As several Israeli media outlets reported, the twelve activists will then be taken to Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. From there, they will be flown to their respective home countries. On board the"Madleen" were people from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and Brazil. It was unclear exactly when the activists would leave Israel. A government spokesperson stated:"They will be returned to their home countries as soon as possible. We have no desire to detain these people."
Similar cases in the past
According to Israeli sources, the stop of the"Madleen" passed without incident. This is not the first time activists have attempted to break the blockade at sea. In 2010, Israeli soldiers stormed the Turkish ship"Mavi Marmara" off the coast of the Gaza Strip, killing ten Turkish citizens.
dpa/gub/saha/krö
