Israel intercepts Gaza aid boat carrying Thunberg
The Gaza aid ship Madleen was intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday morning. The Foreign Ministry in Tel Aviv described the boat as a 'selfie yacht' and explained that the activists on board, including Greta Thunberg, had been detained and deported on Tuesday. The European press criticise both the boat action plan and the reaction.
A welcome distraction for the government
This whole incident only plays into Netanyahu's hands, Der Spiegel comments:
“The Israeli government has been congratulating itself on having successfully stopped the Madleen, and announced on Tuesday that it had deported the 'antisemite' Greta Thunberg and her fellow activists. For the government this is a welcome opportunity to portray itself as level-headed after the harsh criticism of its brutal warfare in Gaza. ... If Thunberg's goal was to put further pressure on the Israeli government, she has not succeeded - on the contrary. ... At least in the short term, this takes the pressure off Netanyahu's government, because it provides a welcome distraction from the crimes Israel's army is purportedly committing every day in Gaza.”
The power of a new generation
Svenska Dagbladet speculates on the long-term impact of the incident:
“Just as Thunberg has sensitised a whole generation of young people to global warming, she will now raise awareness among an even younger group of a conflict that has been going on for decades and has only intensified in recent years. The ridicule she has had to endure as her climate protests attracted more and more attention has probably had the opposite effect. That could also be the case now - and the fact that US President Donald Trump is once again taking notice of Greta Thunberg will only extend her reach. The young people of today are the decision-makers of tomorrow.”
A pointless boat trip
Svenska Dagbladet criticises the activists:
“For the suffering civilian population in Gaza, Greta Thunberg's boat trip won't make the slightest difference. On the contrary, she and her fellow sailors are undermining the credibility of the entire movement that is fighting in various ways for the Palestinian cause. If leading representatives can't even understand the difference between kidnapping and considerate detention, it will be hard to take their warnings about Israeli war crimes seriously. And this at a time when there are serious reasons to suspect that such crimes are actually being committed.”
Just a PR stunt
Der Tagesspiegel is also unsympathetic:
“The twenty-two-year-old Thunberg was accompanied by the Brazilian Thiago Avila, among others, who has called the slain head of the terrorist militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, a 'martyr'. Berlin-based Yasemin Acar was also on board, against whom the public prosecutor's office has brought charges for using banned Hamas slogans and attacking police officers. ... So this sea crossing in the name of Palestine solidarity has been reduced to a simplistic propaganda outing. Perhaps this was only to be expected. After all, we haven't yet heard a single word of sympathy for the victims of the Hamas massacre of 7 October 2023 from Greta Thunberg.”
Tel Aviv has made a fool of itself
The activists wanted to send a message, and Israel has missed an opportunity to respond positively, La Stampa writes:
“It was intended as a symbolic gesture designed to make it clear that one cannot remain indifferent to the senseless humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza. The fate of the inhabitants of this tiny strip of land would not have been improved by this sensationalist initiative, but the Israeli government's reaction, as always disproportionate, highlights once again Israel's failure to avoid creating a non-negative image and the total lack of a clear political focus in Tel Aviv.”