Greta Thunberg's Sailing Venture Tossed Overboard in Israel, What's Next for the Aid Supplies
- ~2 Min Read
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg and her sailing team, named "Madleen," embark from Israel's shores. - Greta Thunberg and her cohort depart from Israel
Here's the skinny: Swedish climate crusader Greta Thunberg and her fellow travelers were given the boot from Israel after their Gaza-bound sailboat was given the heave-ho by Israeli authorities, according to Israeli government reports. The rebels disembarked at Ben-Gurion Airport to catch flights back to their home countries, as per the Israeli Foreign Ministry's X announcement. Those unwilling to play ball and sign expulsion papers were warned they'd face legal action.
This skirmish between Thunberg and the Israeli authorities escalated as the Freedom Flotilla Coalition declared that the entire crew had been handed over to the Israeli authorities' custody. Rumors swirled of an evening escape from Tel Aviv.
Dishing Out Aid from Thunberg's Sailing Expedition
Earlier on, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that the "Selfie-Yacht" of the "A-list rebels" had made landfall in Israel after the Israeli navy thwarted their advance. Relieved of their luxuries and the modicum of aid supplies not gorged by the "celebs," these items were promised a path to Gaza via conventional aid channels. A video, published by the Foreign Ministry, shows the activists in orange life jackets. Their mission? To shine the spotlight on the precarious predicament of Gaza's civilian populace, trapped under an illegal blockade for months.
This glorified yacht sailed from Sicily to the Gaza Strip over a week ago, aiming to breach the Israeli naval blockade with humanitarian supplies aboard. Thunberg has attended numerous pro-Palestine demonstrations before embarking on this challenge. The Israeli military rolled in, or so the story goes, interdicting the ship in international waters and forcibly dragging the crew to Israel. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition refers to this as a hostage-taking affair.
Despite the ongoing unrest in the Gaza Strip, Israel implements a stringent sea blockade on the Palestinian territory, in open defiance of international law. Officially backed by Egypt, which shares the southern border with the coastline strip, the measure was enacted in 2007 aft the Hamas takeover. The stated motive behind this move is the prevention of weapon supplies to Hamas. However, the only weapons involved in the Gaza aid ship "Madleen" were the aid supplies themselves. The Israeli military's actions may have consequently stepped over the line of the Geneva Conventions and tantamount to a war crime.
- Greta Thunberg
- Israel
- Aid Supplies
- Gaza Strip
[1] The Freedom Flotilla Coalition reports threats and surveillance by drones and helicopters (https://freedomflotilla.org)[2] The International Middle East Media Center details a series of incidents involving drones and activists (https://imemc.org)
- Despite the European Union's commitment to a common policy on the environment, the ongoing political tension between Greta Thunberg and Israel, escalated by the interception of her aid supplies-laden vessel, has raised questions about Israel's adherence to international laws, especially in the context of the ongoing war-and-conflicts in the Gaza Strip.
- In the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice, the alleged detention of Greta Thunberg and her crew members by Israeli authorities, as claimed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, could potentially constitute a case of hostage-taking, which brings Israel's actions under scrutiny and opens a new chapter in the politics surrounding the Gaza Strip.
