Israel deports Greta Thunberg

CAMPAIGNER Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden this week, after Israel detained her and other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and deported some.

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Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately, while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement.

The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal this week, rights group Adalah said.

“The state asked the tribunal to keep the activists in custody until their deportation,” Adalah said, adding that under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders can be held for 72 hours before forcible removal.

Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters and towed it to the port of Ashdod.

They then transferred them to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said, from where Thunberg flew first to France then Sweden.

Thunberg, 22, accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel”.