Greta Thunberg condemns Israel’s ‘inhumane siege’ after flotilla detention
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was welcomed by a cheering crowd after being released from Israeli detention, along with hundreds of other activists who were captured following an attempt to bring aid to Gaza through the Global Sumud flotilla mission.
Thunberg was allegedly shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag in prison, according to Global Sumud Flotilla activists, while other campaigners had their clean food, water and medication withheld.
The 22-year-old said she could “talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story”.
“What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”
Israel, which rejects accusations that it is carrying out genocide in Gaza says reports of hunger there are exaggerated, has dismissed the flotilla as a publicity stunt benefiting Hamas. It had previously detained Thunberg at sea in a similar attempt to breach the blockade in June.
Israeli authorities also issued a statement, accompanied by photos of Thunberg at the airport, saying all participants’ legal rights had been upheld and the only violence involved an activist who bit a female medic at Israel’s Ketziot prison.
Meanwhile, seven Australians detained in Israel after the Israeli military intercepted the flotilla didn’t appear to be among those deported to Greece. SBS News has contacted DFAT for comment.
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