Greta Thunberg deported from Israel after Gaza bound aid ship seized

Activist Greta Thunberg is being deported from Israel after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.

In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Ms Thunberg on a plane, saying that she was heading for France before continuing to Sweden.

Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing Ms Thunberg and the other activists, said the Swede, two other campaigners and a journalist had agreed to be deported.

Other activists refused deportation, were being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities.

Ms Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza.

Israeli naval forces seized the boat early on Monday about 125 miles off Gaza’s coast, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group that organised the journey.

The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening.

The activists said they were protesting against the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel says such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying on social media that “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel”.

Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported on 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.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was among the volunteers on board.

She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on 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.

Adalah 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”.

Amnesty International said Israel was flouting international law with the naval raid and called on Israel to release the activists immediately and unconditionally.

“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.