Israel deports Greta Thunberg after Gaza-bound ship she was on was
seized
[June 10, 2025]
By ISAAC SCHARF and AREEJ HAZBOUN
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, the
country's Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was
on was seized by the Israeli military.
Thunberg left on a flight to France and was then headed to her home
country of Sweden, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X. It posted a
photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who shuns air travel, seated on a
plane.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to
Gaza that was meant to protest Israel's ongoing war there and shed light
on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, according to
the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey.
Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about
200 kilometers (125 miles) off of Gaza’s coast, according to the
coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel's actions were a
violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it
says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval
blockade of Gaza.
The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, arrived in the Israeli port of
Ashdod Monday evening, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Other activists face deportation
Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said
Thunberg, two other activists and a journalist had agreed to be deported
and leave Israel. The other eight activists refused deportation, were
being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli
authorities, Adalah said. The activists were expected to be brought
before a court later Tuesday, the group added.
Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry, said the
activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to
appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and will be held
for 96 hours before being deported, she said.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of
Palestinian descent, was also among the passengers on board the Madleen.
She has previously been barred from entering Israel because of her
opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. It was not clear
whether she was being immediately deported or detained.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the
detained French activists signed an expulsion order and will leave
Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused. He said all the
activists received consular visits.
Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was deported, slammed Israel's
actions after he arrived in Barcelona.
“It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate
attack in international waters," he told reporters.
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The Gaza-bound aid boat, Madleen, under escort of Israeli naval
forces enters to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being seized
by Israeli forces, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Questions over a breach of international law
On Monday, Adalah, the rights group, said that Israel had “no legal
authority” to take over the ship, because the group said it was in
international waters and it was headed not to Israel but to the
“territorial waters of the state of Palestine.”
“The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian
manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of
international law,” Adalah said in a statement.
Amnesty International said Israel was flouting international law
with the naval raid and called on Israel to release the activists
immediately and unconditionally.
Israel said its actions were consistent with international law.
Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the “selfie
yacht." Israeli officials said that the flotilla was bringing
“meager” aid with what amounted to less than a truckload of goods.
A longstanding blockade of Gaza
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza
since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing
arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of
Gaza’s Palestinian population.
During the 20-month-long war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and
sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel
and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine.
Israel says Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in
the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war and took 251 hostages, most
of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other
deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them
believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians,
according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish
between civilians and combatants but has said that women and
children make up most of the dead.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of
the territory’s population, leaving people there almost completely
dependent on international aid.
___
Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Teresa Medrano in
Madrid and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this
report.
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