Sweden in contact with Tel Aviv after Israel intercepts aid ship, detains activists
'Relevant missions abroad are aware of the situation and are monitoring developments,' Swedish Foreign Ministry tells Anadolu
LONDON
Sweden on Monday said it is in contact with Tel Aviv after Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship in international waters and detained the activists on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
In response to an Anadolu email, the press office at the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that they are following the situation after Israel detained activists aboard the Madleen aid ship.
"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and relevant missions abroad are aware of the situation and are monitoring developments," the press office noted.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry and Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv are in contact with local authorities and are monitoring the developments closely, it added.
Early Monday, the British-flagged ship the Madleen was intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces before reaching Gaza. It was later towed to an Israeli port.
"Should a need for consular support arise, the embassy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will assess how we can best assist the Swedish national," added the press office.
A total of 12 people went on the aid mission, including 11 activists and one journalist.
Other activists aboard the Madleen aid ship include Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Türkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.
French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan is also among those detained by Israel.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition sent the Madleen from Sicily, Italy, to break the blockade in Gaza and deliver aid.
The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics, according to its organizers.
As Israel has continued to close all Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian aid since early March, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza’s 2.4 million population.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
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