Israel's defense minister has assured that the aid ship carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists will not be able to reach the Gaza Strip.
Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel will not allow anyone to violate its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said is designed to prevent weapons from being supplied to Hamas.
In his commentary, he noted: “To the anti-Semite Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists, I will say this directly: you should go back, because you will not get to Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg is one of 12 people on board the Madleen, a ship operated by the Freedom Flotilla coalition.
The ship set sail from Sicily last Sunday with the aim of breaking the naval blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid, while drawing attention to the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The activists said they planned to reach Gaza's territorial waters within a week.
Among those on board is Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent who was barred from entering Israel because of her criticism of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians.
After a three-month total blockade aimed at putting pressure on Hamas, Israel last month began allowing some basic aid into Gaza, but aid workers have warned of possible famine if the blockade and war are not ended.
An attempt by the Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea last month ended in failure after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the vessel's bow.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
