Greta Thunberg, deported from Israel after taking part in Gaza aid flotilla, lands in Paris, calls for increased aid and an end to the “occupation,” urging release of detained activists.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was deported from Israel after taking part in a flotilla which sought to break Israel’s naval blockade to Gaza, landed in Paris on Tuesday evening, before later returning to her country.
Speaking to reporters upon her arrival and quoted by The Associated Press, Thunberg called for more actions to support aid efforts for Gaza, while leveling accusations at Israel over its treatment of Palestinian Arabs.
Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Madleen flotilla, and said that the conditions the activists aboard the ship faced “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now.”
“We were well aware of the risks of this mission. The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid,” said Thunberg, adding the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza.
Thunberg said it appeared she was headed back to Sweden, hadn’t had access to a phone in a few days and wanted a shower. The activists were held separately and some had trouble accessing lawyers, she added.
Thunberg was one of 12 leftist activists who participated in the flotilla. Of those 12, Thunberg and three others agreed to deportation. Thunberg was then placed on an El Al flight to Paris.
The other activists refused to sign deportation orders and were transferred to a detention facility pending legal proceedings that will conclude with their removal from the country.
Asked why she agreed to deportation, Thunberg replied, “Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?”
She called on supporters to ask their governments “to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis.”
Thunberg also stated that recognizing “Palestine” is “the very, very, very minimum” that governments can do to help.
The flotilla was intercepted without incident by soldiers from the IDF’s Shayetet 13 naval commando unit. The activists were then given food and water, despite many of them having prepared prerecorded videos claiming that they were “kidnapped” by the IDF.
The ship which took part in the flotilla was transported to the Ashdod Port. The Foreign Ministry said that the Gaza aid aboard the included less than a single truckload of aid, and it would be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels.
