Having to sit on hard surfaces. Bedbugs everywhere. Inadequate food and poor water. These are just some of the grievances cited by Swedish professional activist Greta Thunberg against the Israeli government after she was taken into detention when her “aid convoy” was intercepted last week as it headed towards Gaza.
Israeli authorities arrested about 470 people as dozens of vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) were stopped at sea some 70 nautical miles short of their destination.
According to correspondence from the Swedish Foreign Ministry, seen and reported by the Guardian, Thunberg told officials she developed hurtful rashes possibly caused by the alleged bedbugs while being held.
The activist was also said to have complained of dehydration all while critics called the entire project “fake” with nothing of value being transported to the disputed area.
A letter shared with Thunberg’s parents also reportedly said she complained of “harsh and exhausting” treatment after she was detained by Israeli forces.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has called the allegations “brazen lies” and emphasized detainees had access to food, water, legal counsel and medical care.
In a statement shared Sunday on X, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said all detainees’ “legal rights were fully upheld.”
The agency insisted that Thunberg “did not complain to Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations because they never occurred.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also called the reports “brazen lies” and emphasized that detainees had access to food, water, legal counsel and medical care.
Court documents from an Oct. 5 hearing before Israel’s Population and Migration Tribunal appear to support the official account, per local media reports, showing Thunberg requested deportation to Sweden but made no formal complaint of mistreatment while in custody, the Guardian report notes.
It is the second time Thunberg has been deported by Israel after unsuccessfully trying to reach Gaza by sea.
After she was arrested in June for taking part in the previous flotilla, Thunberg claimed she had been “kidnapped” by Israel. Others have echoed the claim that they were “abducted” by Israel, since they were arrested in international waters.
Per the BBC, Israel says 171 people have now been deported to Greece and Slovakia and are citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia, and the United States.
Both Egypt and Israel have maintained a blockade against Gaza for years in an effort to prevent Hamas terrorist groups from obtaining weapons.
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