Israel has issued a clear warning against the ship Madleen carrying Swedish controversial activist Greta Thunberg and 11 other pro-Palestinian campaigners to Gaza Strip. Israel has said that the vessel will not be allowed to breach the naval blockade.
Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the Israel Defence Force has been ordered to stop the flotilla “at any cost”. He labelled it a reckless act of provocation masquerading as humanitarian aid. The ship is currently approaching Gaza’s coast from Egyptian waters.
The so-called Freedom Flotilla left Sicily last week claiming to deliver relief supplies to Gaza, which include flour, medical kits and baby food. However, Israeli officials and analysts say the voyage is more about political optics than genuine humanitarian concerns. Minister of Defence, Israel Katz, went further and called the passengers “anti-Semitic propagandists”. He specifically named Thunberg in his rebuke, calling her anti-semitic.
He wrote in Hebrew, “I have instructed the IDF to act to prevent the “Madeleine” hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza – and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end. To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza. Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air, and on land.”
The defence minister also posted a photo of him with senior military officials.
Ship of activists or ship of agitators?
Apart from Greta, among the most controversial figures on board is French MEP Rima Hassan. Notably, she had previously defended Hamas’s 7 October terror attack on Israel as “legitimate” and has been barred from entering Israel for promoting the BDS campaign and glorifying violence. Despite these red flags, Hassan was warmly embraced by the flotilla, whose organisers say they aim to “break the silence in the face of genocide.”
Meanwhile, Thunberg has continued her shift from climate activism to far-left and Islamist international causes. She has accused Israel of committing genocide and called on the world to act. The 21-year-old so-called activist is being used as a poster child for a dangerous, one-sided narrative and possibly has little understanding of the regional complexities.
Madleen is sailing under a UK flag. However, the UK govt rejected Israeli requests to prevent the boat from reaching Israeli waters. While the ship has saliled from Egypt towards Gaza coast, Israeli Navy is expected to block the vessel if it enters Israel’s territorial waters.
Israel draws the line
The IDF has confirmed plans to intercept the vessel before it enters Israeli waters, with Shayetet 13 commandos on standby. Any resistance will be met with firm action, the army said, and all passengers will be detained and deported.
Israeli sources say previous attempts by similar flotillas resulted in violence and propaganda wins for Hamas. The current voyage, they argue, is no different, a highly orchestrated media spectacle using humanitarian language to shield radical agendas.
