Activists Lost the Hand
Here Comes Greta: Thunberg Accuses Israel of Exposing Her to Bedbugs and Dehydration
Climate activist Greta Thunberg and other flotilla protesters allege mistreatment during detention in Israeli prison, including dehydration and exposure to harsh conditions.
Detainees from the Global Sumud Flotilla, intercepted by the Israeli Navy en route to Gaza earlier this week, are reporting instances of mistreatment by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), according to a legal aid group.
Adalah, an Israeli Arab legal organization, claimed on Saturday that numerous activists held at Ketziot prison in the Negev have reported being denied food and water and manhandled by Israeli law enforcement.
In the meanwhile, the Guardian newspaper alleged that the Swedish climate and pro-Palestinian campaigner Greta Thunberg would have been held in harsh conditions.
Thunberg Allegedly Forced to Pose with Israeli Flag
Adalah cited an unnamed activist who reported that both she and Thunberg were videotaped standing in front of Israeli flags after their detention.
The Swedish ministry informed Thunberg’s associates that the embassy met with her and detailed her condition:
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta. She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food,” read the email. “She also stated that she had developed rashes, which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
The embassy correspondence further corroborated Adalah’s account, stating another detainee saw Thunberg “being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken.”
An IPS spokesman, responding to a query on the alleged flag incident, stated the agency was “unaware of such an incident.”
Activists Detail Physical Abuse and Deprivation
Adalah lawyers also collected testimonies from other flotilla participants reporting physical mistreatment during the interception and detention process, including being shoved, roughly handled, pushed to the ground, or punched.
Many detainees also claimed they were left in the sun, sitting on their knees for hours before their appearance before an immigration authority tribunal.
Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited Ketziot to personally ensure protesters were recieving a treatment in the protocols he imposes on Palestinian security prisoners.
"They receive conditions for terrorists here, for everything, terrorist sweatpants, terrorist conditions," Channel 14 reported Ben-Gvir as saying. "This means, there is a minimum of the minimum, that’s what I promised and that’s how we are fulfilling it.”
Over 470 activists were detained during the interception of the 42-boat flotilla, which sought to challenge Israel’s years-long naval blockade of Gaza. More than 130 have since been deported, mostly via Istanbul, while others remain held at Ketziot.