The Israeli Foreign Ministry has rejected allegations of mistreatment of detained activists from the humanitarian flotilla “Sumud“ (which means “steadfastness“ in Arabic), including Swedish human rights activist Greta Thunberg.
“The allegations of mistreatment of Greta Thunberg and other detained activists from the Hamas flotilla “Sumud“ are blatant lies. All legal rights of the detainees have been fully respected“, said a statement from the Foreign Ministry published in X.
The ministry added that “Greta herself and the other detainees have refused expedited deportation and have insisted on extending their detention“. In addition, the Swedish human rights activist “has not filed any complaints with the Israeli authorities regarding any of the ridiculous and baseless accusations, as they have never happened“, concluded the Jewish state's Foreign Ministry.
On October 5, the British newspaper The Guardian, citing correspondence between Thunberg and a Swedish official, reported that the human rights activist had stated that the Israeli authorities were holding her in... a cell infested with bedbugs and not giving her enough water and food. The flotilla “Sumud“ The flotilla sailed from the coast of Tunisia to the Gaza Strip in mid-September. Israel intercepted all the vessels. In total, the flotilla consisted of more than 40 vessels belonging to different countries, one of which was carrying Thunberg.