Greta Thunberg back in Sweden after deportation from Israel
Thunberg, one of the 12 activists and journalists who set off in a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship that was seized by Israel, is back in her native country after Israel deported her on Tuesday.
Thunberg, who flew to Sweden via Paris, arrived home at about 10:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Tuesday. She was greeted by about 30 cheering supporters waving Palestinian flags amid a large media presence.
As we reported, Thunberg has accused Israel of “kidnapping” her and the others on board the Madleen vessel and treating them in a “dehumanising” way. She stressed that attention should stay on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.
She was among the four of the 12 Madleen crew members who accepted deportation terms, according to the legal rights group Adalah. The eight others have been brought before an Israeli Detention Review Tribunal to review the custody orders issued against them.
Lowkey DESTROYS Media Coverage of Greta Thunberg Gaza Flotilla
“Greta Thunberg has more courage in her little finger than the entire media class”
Rights group calls detention of Madleen volunteers ‘completely unlawful’
Adalah, The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, has released a statement, in which it calls on Israel to immediately release the eight detained volunteers and return them either “to the Madleen to resume their humanitarian mission to Gaza or to their countries of origin”.
In Adalah’s view, the law applied by the tribunal, which stated “illegal entry into Israel”, is inapplicable to the volunteers. It said they neither sought to enter Israel nor intended to enter Israeli territorial waters, as their planned route was from Italy’s Sicily to international waters and then directly into the internationally-recognised territorial waters of the State of Palestine, into Gaza.
“The Tribunal dismissed Adalah’s arguments, asserting that the naval blockade on Gaza is lawful under Israeli law and that the volunteers knowingly attempted to breach it”, it said.
Under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders are detained for 72 hours or more before they are forcibly deported unless they agree to be deported earlier.
However, Adalah says the tribunal has enabled the authorities to “extend detention arbitrarily, potentially for one month … without any further judicial oversight, and in clear violation of international law”.
