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‘Genocidal intent…': Greta Thunberg slams Israel in first remarks since deportation | Video
The Swedish climate activist and hundreds of others were welcomed by a cheering crowd of pro-Palestinian supporters at Athens International Airport.
Activist Greta Thunberg landed in Greece on Monday after Israel detained and later deported her for attempting to ship aid to Gaza on a flotilla. She criticised Israel and urged the world to stop Jerusalem’s “genocide” of the Palestinians. A total of 171 activists, including Thunberg, were deported from Israel after it intercepted the flotilla that was heading to Gaza.
The Swedish climate activist and hundreds of others were welcomed by a cheering crowd of pro-Palestinian supporters at Athens International Airport. Speaking to the crowd, Thunberg described the Global Sumud Flotilla as “the biggest ever attempt to break Israel's illegal and inhumane siege by sea”.
She said, “There is a genocide going on in front of our very eyes. A live-streamed genocide on all of our phones. Under international law, states have a legal obligation to act to prevent and to stop a genocide from happening. That means ending complicity, applying real pressure, and ending arms transfers. We are not seeing that. We are not even seeing the very minimum from our governments.”
“What we aim to do with the Global Sumud Flotilla is to step up when our governments fail to do their legal obligation. And it is a shame that the Global Sumud Flotilla was the biggest ever attempt to break Israel's illegal, inhumane siege by sea. It was a story of global, international solidarity, of people stepping up when our governments failed to do so, of people saying that: ‘My so-called leaders, who were supposed to represent me, who continue to fuel a genocide, death and destruction, they do not represent me. This is a last resort. That this mission has to exist is a shame.’”
While speaking about her alleged mistreatment, she said, “And I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me. But that is not the story. What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”
The activists had attempted to reach Gaza in several vessels to deliver aid and draw attention to the current situation there, where most of the 2.2 million residents have been displaced and the United Nations has warned of rampant hunger.
ALSO READ | Why was Greta Thunberg detained from Gaza-bound aid flotilla
Israel has denied accusations of committing genocide in Gaza and said reports of rampant hunger are exaggerated. It described the flotilla as a publicity stunt that benefits Hamas. Thunberg was last detained in June during a similar attempt to break the blockade.
Trump calls Thunberg a ‘troublemaker’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump called Thunberg a troublemaker who has anger management issues.
“She is just a troublemaker,” he said when asked about Thunberg’s activism. “She has an anger management problem. I think she should see a doctor. If you ever watch her -- for a young person, she’s so angry. She’s so crazy. You can have her.”
‘Physically assaulted, forced to kiss Israeli flag’: Activists allege mistreatment
Many activists detained by Israel after the flotilla was intercepted have made serious allegations against Israeli authorities.
Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament, told AFP, “I was beaten by two police officers when they put me in the van.”
Yasmin Acar, a member of the flotilla's steering committee, claimed the detainees were “treated like animals” and “terrorists”. Acar said, “We were physically assaulted, we were deprived of sleep… We did not have any clean water. For the first 48 hours, there was no food, no water at all.”
Turkish journalist and Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media that Thunberg was also “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”, Al Jazeera reported.
Other activists alleged sleep deprivation, being kicked, and being locked in a cage.
Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign ministry has dismissed the reports of mistreatment as “complete lies”. A spokesperson told Reuters that all detainees “were not denied access to legal counsel and all their legal rights were fully upheld.”
With inputs from agencies
