Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was flown home on Tuesday after being deported from Israel, where the navy prevented her and fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza with aid.
“We did nothing wrong,” the 22-year-old told reporters after landing in Paris, accusing Israel of kidnapping her.
“We were 12 peaceful volunteers sailing on a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid on international waters,” she said. She spoke of war crimes “that Israel is systematically committing against Palestinians by not letting aid come to starving people”.
Forces seized their small aid ship, the Madleen, which was seeking to break the longstanding naval blockade of Gaza.
Four of those on board, including Ms Thunberg, agreed to immediate deportation, while eight others contested the repatriation order. They have been detained near Tel Aviv airport awaiting a court hearing on their legal status; among them are Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament.
"We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” Ms Thunberg added. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.”
Israel has imposed a rigid land, air and sea blockade on Gaza, saying the shutdown is needed to prevent arms from reaching Hamas militants. It allows in limited supplies of food that are mainly distributed by a private group it backs.
Israel has dismissed the sea mission as a publicity stunt.
“Greta and her friends brought in a tiny amount of aid on their celebrity yacht. It did not help the people of Gaza. This was nothing but a ridiculous gimmick,” foreign minister Gideon Saar said.
He said the supplies aboard the yacht would be transferred to Gaza through “real humanitarian channels”.
Ms Thunberg defended the aid effort, organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, saying a larger boat that could carry a bigger cargo was disabled last month in the Mediterranean by drones allegedly operated by Israel.
She also laughed off criticism from Donald Trump, who had described her overnight as “angry” and “strange”. She said: “I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest, especially with everything going on right now.”
Ms Thunberg, who headed on to Sweden, travels mostly by train and has long shunned aeroplanes because of their hefty carbon emissions. In 2019, she crossed the Atlantic by boat to attend a climate summit.
In March, Israel imposed a total blockade on all supplies to Gaza, which experts say has driven the population of more than two million to the brink of famine.
Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies, largely distributed by a new Israeli-backed group. Israel says the step is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. Hamas has denied stealing aid.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
