Israel has deported 171 foreign activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, detained after intercepting a flotilla attempting to break the Gaza naval blockade.
The activists, from several European countries and the US, were flown to Greece and Slovakia; photos showed Thunberg at an airport.
Flotilla organisers accused Israel of violating international law, while Israeli authorities defended the blockade as legal and called the mission a “PR stunt.”
Israel has deported 171 foreign activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who were detained after Israeli forces intercepted a flotilla attempting to breach the naval blockade of Gaza last week.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the activists were flown to Greece and Slovakia, and that the group included citizens from Greece, Slovakia, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The ministry also released photographs of Thunberg dressed in a grey tracksuit, walking through an airport.
According to Israeli authorities, a total of 341 out of more than 470 passengers detained from the 42 boats that formed the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) have now been deported.
The flotilla’s organisers said their mission aimed to “break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.” They accused Israel of violating international maritime and humanitarian law by intercepting the vessels.
Israel, in response, maintained that its naval blockade of Gaza is legal and described the flotilla as a “public relations stunt.” Officials also dismissed as “fake news” allegations from some activists that they were mistreated or denied basic rights during detention.
