Greta Thunberg arrives at Israeli port after Gaza-bound aid boat was detained
Accompanied by Israeli navy, boat arrived in port of Ashdod. Thunberg and 11 others expected to be held at detention facility then deported
Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived at a port in Israel on Monday, hours after Israeli forces boarded the Gaza-bound aid boat that she was travelling on with other activists and detained them.
Israel was enforcing a long-standing blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Gaza war.
The boat, accompanied by the Israeli navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry published a photo of Thunberg on social media after disembarking from the boat.
The 12 activists are undergoing medical checks to ensure that they are in good health, the ministry said. They were expected to be held at a detention facility in the Israeli city of Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing the activists.
The activists had set out to protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of around 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organised the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces” while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory.