Israeli ministers plan to detain Greta Thunberg and others in 'terrorist-level conditions' for their Gaza flotilla. Photo / Getty Images
Israeli ministers are drawing up plans to detain Greta Thunberg in “terrorist-level conditions” after the Swedish activist departed Spain on Sunday on the largest flotilla yet bound for Gaza.
Thunberg is joined by Liam Cunningham, the Game of Thrones actor, and Ada Colau, the former mayor of Barcelona, among others, on what they refer to as the “largest solidarity mission” in history.
Dozens of other ships are expected to set sail for Gaza from Tunisia and other ports in the Mediterranean Sea on September 4 to join the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to break the siege of Gaza in a symbolic protest against the war and dire humanitarian conditions.
But Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, is planning to present Benjamin Netanyahu with a plan to detain the activists in harsh “terrorist-level” conditions in the Ktzi’ot and Damon detention centres for females, according to Israel Hayom, one of Israel’s biggest newspapers.
The plan also includes seizing dozens of vessels and using them to establish a “maritime force for police operations”.
Israel Hayom quoted individuals close to Ben-Gvir saying: “Following several weeks at Ktzi’ot and Damon, they’ll be sorry about the time they arrived here. We must eliminate their appetite for another attempt.”
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza’s waters to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Hamas and other terror groups. The country has also been accused of manufacturing a famine inside the Strip by blocking aid as part of war plans to flush out Hamas and its hostages.
Before the departure from Barcelona port, Thunberg told Iranian Press TV that the flotillas aim to “deliver humanitarian aid and break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza and open up a people’s humanitarian corridor”.
The left-wing activist said that more than 26,000 people signed up to join the mission to break the siege on Gaza.
She said: “This project is part of a global uprising of people standing up… when our governments fail to step up, the people will take their place, and that their atrocities and their complicity in the genocide in Gaza right now.. is not something that we can stand for.”
The International Court of Justice has not ruled on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Thunberg also rejected accusations of anti-Semitism before her departure, telling Sky News: “It is not anti-Semitic to say that we should not be bombing people, that one should not be living in occupation, that everyone should have the right to live in freedom and dignity, no matter who you are.
“For every politician that is fuelling the genocide further, environmental and climate destruction, and further colonisation and fascism, there will be people escalating the resistance against that.”
Israel is expected to stop the flotillas long before they reach the shores of Gaza.
In June, Thunberg joined the Madleen flotilla with 11 other activists. But their flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy 115 nautical miles west of Gaza, where they handed out water and sandwiches before being escorted to the port of Ashdod in Israel.
The activists were also offered to watch footage of Hamas atrocities from October 7, which they refused, according to Israel Katz, Israel’s Defence Minister.
Katz said at the time: “When they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the activists “attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity. There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies.”
Israel also said that “unauthorised attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts”.
Thunberg, who was later deported on an Israeli plane to Paris, claimed the group of activists “were kidnapped in international waters…We were well aware of the risks of this mission. The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.”
The claim of kidnapping was ridiculed in Israel, which is fighting to free 48 hostages from Gaza.
Donald Trump, the US President, also weighed in on Thunberg’s previous mission to Gaza, saying: “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg. She’s a young, angry person… I think she has to go to an anger management class.”
Israel said: “The IDF enforces the security naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.”
The Telegraph has contacted the Foreign Ministry and the IDF for a comment on how Israel plans to handle the dozens of flotillas departing for Gaza.
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