Greta Thunberg has insisted she is not anti-Semitic as she sets sail on her second ‘freedom flotilla’ to Gaza – nearly three months after she was deported on her first attempt.
The Swedish campaigner was detained by Israeli forces along with 11 others in June after they attempted to sail from Italy to the under-siege Palestinian enclave to deliver a symbolic amount of aid.
Their voyage was described by the Israeli foreign ministry as a publicity stunt by ‘celebrity activists’, referring to their flotilla – named the Madleen – as ‘the selfie yacht’.
Thunberg claimed that Israel had ‘kidnapped’ the group in international waters and ‘taken them against their will’, after security forces intercepted the Madleen some 100 nautical miles from Gaza.
The activists, including Thunberg, were banned from Israel for 100 years, according to the rights group that legally represents some of them.
Israel later accused the activists of being anti-Semitic, a claim which Thunberg has denied.
She told Sky News: ‘It is not anti-Semitic to say that we should not be bombing people, that one should not be living in occupation, that everyone should have the right to live in freedom and dignity, no matter who you are.’
The newest flotilla is set to embark from Spain on Sunday as Thunberg and her fellow activists have called on Israel to allow the vessel through its naval blockade.
The blockade has been in place since 2007 and boats attempting to cross in the past have been blocked by Israel.
In 2010 a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was raided by Israeli special forces, killing eight Turkish activists and an American-Turkish teenager.
Despite the dangers, Thunberg said she was more concerned by the ‘silence of the world’ about what is happening in the region.
She added: ‘I’m terrified to see that we seem to have lost all the humanity that we have, and there seems to be no compassion left in the world amongst the vast majority of people who are able to sit on the couch and watch the genocide unfold that I am terrified for.’
Thunberg claimed Israel’s continuation of the blockade was a violation of international law.
The newest Freedom Flotilla is unlikely to be more successful on its newest voyage, with Israeli officials prepared to uphold the blockade.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: ‘The IDF enforces the security naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.’
The IDF also said that over two millions tons of aid has been delivered to Gaza, including from 9,000 aid trucks entering through land crossings in the past months.
It said 300 aid trucks were entering the region every day with food and medical supplies.
Thunberg was deported from Israel after her first aid mission in June.
The activists were intercepted in international waters off the coast of Egypt before being detained.
They were taken to Ashdod before Thunberg and some of the other activists were put on a plane to France.
After their vessel was intercepted, she was photographed receiving a turkey sandwich from a soldier.
She accused Israel of orchestrating a PR stunt following the action.
Despite her swift deportation, Thunberg was unrepentant. The activist vowed that they ‘would not stop’ trying to help and promised that ‘this is not the end.’
Thunberg told journalists shortly after landing in Paris: ‘What is certain is that we will not stop.
She accused Israel of ‘kidnapping’ her in international waters, a claim she made previously in a dramatic pre-recorded SOS message released shortly after her detention.
The activist described the experience as ‘very dehumanising,’ though she insisted: ‘But of course, I have to stress nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through. I would prefer not to go into detail’.
Prior to her deportation, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he’d instructed IDF officials to show the activists the full, unedited footage of the October 7 attacks as recorded by Hamas terrorist body cameras.
‘It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself,’ he said.
After the flotilla was intercepted, he told reporters: ‘Greta and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival to the screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre… when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching.
‘The anti-Semitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children.’
Katz and other Israeli officials have come under fire for branding Thunberg and her fellow activists ‘anti-Semitic’ for wanting to deliver aid to starving Gazans.
But Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said: ‘This wasn’t humanitarian aid. It’s Instagram activism…
‘Who’s really feeding Gaza and who’s really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself.’
The French government revealed that five of the six French citizens detained alongside Thunberg had refused to sign deportation orders, meaning they faced judicial proceedings.
Thunberg told journalists shortly after landing in Paris: ‘What is certain is that we will not stop.
‘We are going to continue try to do everything we can because that is the promise that we have given to to Palestinians.
‘We are going to try every single day in every way that we can and keep trying to demand an end to the atrocities.’
After a brief stop in France, Thunberg landed back home at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport.
She was greeted by around 30 cheering supporters waving Palestinian flags amid a large media presence at the airport.
Of the 12 people on board the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily.
Four others, including Thunberg, were deported.