Source : Perth Now news
Activist Greta Thunberg is reportedly being held in an Israeli prison after IDF troops intercepted the Madleen, dubbed the “Freedom Flotilla”, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The boat which carried Ms Thunberg, 22, along with 11 other activists, arrived in Ashdod on Monday after IDF commandos took control of the vessel.
Ms Thunberg, aloing with at least five other people that were on the boat, are understood to be in an immigration jail, where they will be held until they face court.
“We demand information about the whereabouts of our clients and the right to meet them,” lawyer Nariman Shehade Zoabi told Expressen
“Based on previous experiences, Greta Thunberg and the others will be taken to Givon Prison near the town of Ramle.
“There, what are called illegal immigrants are detained and there is a court that can quickly decide on deportation,”she said.
“Those arrested are not illegal immigrants at all. They were on their way to Gaza, not to Israel. The military has forced them to Israel against their will,” she continued.
Ms Thunberg says she has been “intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces.”
On arrival, the activists were handed over to the police and prison authorities to be “medically examined and registered”.
They were then offered the opportunity to watch a video of the atrocities committed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
In a statement earlier on Monday, the FFC said the Madleen had “been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military” in international waters.
“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food and medical supplies – confiscated,” the FFC said in a statement.
FFC organiser Huwaida Arraf said Israel had no legal authority to detain those aboard the ship.
“These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade – their detention is arbitrary, unlawful and must end immediately,” Arraf said.
“We are undeterred. We will sail again. We will not stop until the siege ends and Palestine is free,” the FFC said.
The activists argue that Israel must guarantee unhindered humanitarian access to the coastal strip.
– with Deutsche Presse Agentur
