Activist Greta Thunberg was relentlessly mocked as she was deported from Israel on Tuesday — after the Gaza-bound “selfie yacht” she and her posse of activists were on was seized by the Israeli military.
A photo released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry shows a straight-faced Thunberg buckled into a plane seat on a flight back to Sweden, her home country.
The 22-year-old’s critics were quick to poke fun at the climate activist for traveling by ship all the way to Israel just to be sent home on a gas-guzzling jet, which she has spoken out against for years.
Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel on Tuesday, the country’s Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. @IsraelMFA/X
Activist Greta Thunberg arrives from Israel at Charles de Gaulle airport. AP
An Israeli solider passes a bun to Greta Thunberg onboard the Gaza-bound, British-flagged yacht Madleen. via REUTERS
“She looks happy for polluting the climate,” one X user mocked in response to the Foreign Ministry’s post.
“Polluting the climate all the way back home,” another quipped.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg talks to journalists upon her arrival to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport. AFP via Getty ImagesAdalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing Thunberg and the other activists, said Thunberg, two other activists and a journalist had agreed to be deported and leave Israel.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg talks to journalists upon her arrival to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport after she was deported from Israel. AFP via Getty ImagesOther activists who refused deportation were being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying she had departed Israel and was headed to France before continuing on to Sweden. @IsraelMFA/XThunberg had claimed that she and her crew had been “kidnapped” by the Israel Defense Forces troops who captured and boarded the Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, on Monday.
Thunberg and 11 others on board had tried to bust through Israel’s naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip with aid for Palestinians.
Greta Thunberg was aboard a boat bound for Gaza. Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Telegram/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images“Looks like her kidnappers didn’t want her either,” another critic sneered in response to the photo released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza.
Meanwhile, scores more congratulated Israel’s handling of what could have been a dangerous escalation of the conflict, now in its second year.
“Well done Israel. Stopped the activists from entering a blockade, a conflict zone. Prevented the activists from being kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. Stopped WW3 & protected life,” one person wrote.
“If the Islamic terrorists who control the area had kidnapped these activists it could have triggered WW3. Therefore the activists put us all at risk. Unforgivable,” they added.
Greta Thunberg with part of the crew of the ship Madleen. Getty ImagesIsraeli naval forces seized the boat early Monday about 125 miles off Gaza’s coast, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, was escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen. via REUTERSThe activists said they were protesting the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel has maintained that such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying on social media that “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel.”
With Post wires
