Israeli Forces Prevent Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg And Other Activists From Reaching Gaza
HuffPost
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists has been diverted to Israel.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists early Monday and diverted it to Israel, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,” the Foreign Ministry said in a social media post. “The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.”
It said the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels. It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and protest Israel’s blockade and wartime conduct, said the activists had been “kidnapped by Israeli forces” and released pre-recorded messages from them.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard.
