Ben-Gvir blasts Greta and her flotilla friends as ‘terror supporters’

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday lambasted Swedish climate activist “Greta Thunberg and her pro-Hamas friends” on board the “Global Sumud Flotilla” intercepted by Israel en route to Gaza this week.

“You are all terrorists,” Ben-Gvir said. “You are supporting murderers, supporting Gaza, supporting terrorists. You are terror supporters. There is no humanitarian aid here.”

An Israeli Foreign Ministry video showed Thunberg, the most famous of the more than 250 activists detained, sitting on a deck circled by IDF soldiers on her second flotilla to Gaza.

Another prominent passenger detained was Mandla Mandela, the late South African leader Nelson Mandela’s grandson and the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council, who converted to Islam before marrying his fourth wife, Rabia Clarke, in Cape Town in 2016.

In a letter obtained by JNS, his sister, Ndileka Mandela, describing herself as Mandela’s “first and eldest granddaughter,” appealed on Thursday to South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, “to urgently engage with the Israeli authorities, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Chief Mandla Mandela and all those detained.”

She added that “the flotilla’s sole purpose was to deliver humanitarian assistance food, medical supplies, nappies [diapers] and other essential relief items to the people of Palestine. The delegation comprised peace activists whose mission was solely in humanitarian principles and posed no threat to the State of Israel.”

Late on Thursday, Israel declared the “Global Sumud Flotilla” over after intercepting dozens of boats attempting to breach the naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. The last vessel seeking to break Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza was intercepted early on Friday.

According to the military, due to mechanical problems, the vessel lagged behind the other 41 ships, all of which were intercepted by the Israeli Navy. The Israel Defense Forces reported that the flotilla’s vessels were stopped without incident and that the passengers were “safe and in good health” before they were due to be deported back to Europe.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry mocked the flotilla as a staged stunt, posting on X that “it was never about the aid. It was always about the provocation.” It said Israel Police were searching for the promised humanitarian supplies, “but, so far, they haven’t found much.”

Meanwhile, another flotilla is reported to be heading toward Gaza in another bid to break the Israeli maritime blockade.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that a vessel named Conscience had set sail from Italy on Wednesday with some 100 activists aboard, including healthcare workers and journalists, joining another eight boats that departed a week before.