Stormy weather forces Gaza-bound flotilla with activist Greta Thunberg back to Barcelona

A flotilla of vessels with anti-Israel activists including Greta Thunberg departed from Spain on Sunday with the announced goal to “break the illegal siege of Gaza.” 

The far-left Brazilian activist Thiago Avila described “Global Sumud Flotilla Mission” as the largest of its kind to date. The word “sumud” means “determination” and has become popular among anti-Israel activists. 

“This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined,” Avila stated.

The flotilla reportedly includes activists from 44 countries including the Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham. The organizers have revealed that the main flotilla from Barcelona would be joined by more vessels from Italy, Greece and Tunisia. Some 20 vessels were expected to participate in the new Gaza flotilla. 

However, things have not gone according to plan. On Monday, the Gaza flotilla organizers announced they had been forced to return to Barcelona due to stormy weather in the Mediterranean.

"We conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass. This meant delaying our departure to avoid risking complications with the smaller boats," Global Sumud Flotilla Mission said in an official statement. Strong winds reportedly reached approximately 35 mph.

The anti-Israel activists officially deny that they harbor antisemitic sentiments. However, anti-Israel activists in Barcelona held antisemitic pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhahu that equated him with the late Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This constitutes antisemitism according to the internationally respected International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. Demonizing the Jewish state by equating it with Nazi Germany has become normalized among many radicalized anti-Israel activists around the world. 

Israel unilaterally withdrew all its residents and military forces from Gaza in 2005. After Hamas violently seized power in Gaza and rockets were fired at Israeli civilian communities such as the border town Sderot, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza with the purpose of preventing Hamas’s efforts to smuggle weapons into the coastal enclave. The blockade did not prevent the inflow of civilian goods including food and medical supplies. 

In June, Thunberg joined another flotilla that claimed to “challenge the Israeli blockade.” In an interview with The Times, Thunberg explained why she decided to join the flotilla onboard the sailboat “Madleen.” 

“What brought me on this boat?” Thunberg said. “Just being human, seeing the footage from Gaza, hearing the reports and feeling that I need to do something, whatever that is.” She continued, “And for some reason I have a platform, and if I can use that platform, for example, being on this boat and amplifying the Palestinian cause, then of course I have to do that. Because I care about justice and because … I cannot just sit around and watch this genocide happening without doing something." 

The Israeli Navy eventually intercepted the flotilla and prevented it from reaching Gaza. 

“The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorized vessels under a legal naval blockade, consistent with international law. The yacht is claiming that it is delivering humanitarian aid,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced at the time. The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the anti-Israel activists as a “selfie yacht” that mainly driven by receiving publicity rather than genuinely assisting people in Gaza. 

“In fact, it is a media gimmick for publicity (which includes less than a single truckload of aid) – a ‘selfie yacht’. Humanitarian aid is delivered regularly and effectively via different channels and routes,” the foreign ministry in Jerusalem stated. 

Thunberg and the other anti-Israel activists were deported from Israel. Following the deportation, Thunberg claimed that Israel had “kidnapped” the activists. 

“I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel," she argued. 

“We were 12 peaceful volunteers sailing on a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid on international waters. We did not break laws. We did nothing wrong,” she claimed.