Israel deports Greta Thunberg and other Gaza flotilla activists | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Among the many 161 arriving in Athens, MEP Rima Hassan experiences that she was ‘crushed’ by Israeli cops.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in Greece together with 160 different campaigners from the Global Sumud Flotilla, having been deported by Israel.

Israel’s Overseas Ministry introduced on X on Monday that it had expelled a complete of 171 activists from the flotilla’s ships, which had been intercepted final week whereas attempting to convey support to blockaded Gaza. This brings the whole deported thus far as much as 341.

The Greek Overseas Ministry confirmed that 161 of the expelled activists — together with 27 Greeks and 134 nationals from 15 different nations — arrived on a flight to Athens on Monday, in accordance with information company AFP.

“Let me be very clear. There’s a genocide occurring,” Thunberg informed the gang on the Athens airport, referring to Israeli army motion in Gaza.

“Our international programs are betraying Palestinians. They don’t seem to be even capable of forestall the worst conflict crimes from occurring,” she mentioned, in feedback carried by AFP.

“What we aimed to do with the International Sumud Flotilla was to step up when our governments did not do their authorized obligation,” she added.

The 22-year-old was allegedly abused by Israeli forces whereas in detention. Turkish journalist and Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik earlier informed native media how Thunberg was “dragged on the bottom” and “pressured to kiss the Israeli flag”.

Slovakia’s Overseas Ministry, in the meantime, confirmed that 10 of the deportees had arrived there, together with one among its nationals and 9 different folks from the Netherlands, Canada and the USA.

‘Lengthy stay the flotilla’

Crowds of demonstrators welcomed the activists, unfurling an enormous Palestinian flag within the arrivals corridor and chanting: “Freedom for Palestine” and “Lengthy stay the flotilla!”

Amongst these arriving in Athens, Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament, reported having been hit by Israeli police after the flotilla was intercepted.

“I used to be crushed by two cops after they put me within the van,” she informed AFP.

Hassan mentioned she and different detainees had been stored in teams of as much as 15 per cell on mattresses in a high-security Israeli jail.

The flotilla departed from Barcelona in Spain in early September and was intercepted by the Israeli navy in worldwide waters approaching Gaza.

Israeli police mentioned greater than 470 folks aboard the flotilla boats had been arrested. The Overseas Ministry informed AFP that 138 flotilla contributors remained in detention in Israel.