Gaza flotilla passengers arrive at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of deportation

Passengers from the “Madleen” aid flotilla arrived at Ben Gurion Airport early Tuesday morning, ahead of their deportation.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said, “The passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries. Some of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ passengers are expected to leave within the next few hours.”

The statement added, “Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation.”

Consuls from the passengers’ home countries met them at the airport.

The ship which took part in the flotilla docked on Monday evening at the port of Ashdod after being intercepted early Monday morning by soldiers from the Shayetet 13 unit while attempting to reach the Gaza Strip. The takeover was carried out without resistance.

On board the ship were 12 left-wing activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham, and French European Parliament member Rima Hassan. The flotilla aimed to break the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The Foreign Ministry on Monday evening published a photo of Thunberg wearing a shirt with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag, with Israeli flags in the background.

Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the IDF to screen the film documenting the October 7 massacre atrocities for the flotilla passengers, but on Monday he said in a statement that the activists refused to watch the film upon discovering what it entailed.

“The antisemitic flotilla members close their eyes to the truth and have once again proven that they prefer the murderers over the victims, continuing to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children,” said Katz.

Israel had decided that the Foreign Ministry, not the IDF, would communicate the flotilla incident to the world, to convey the message that this is a civilian, not a military, matter.

Early Sunday morning, the Foreign Ministry released a video showing the activists receiving food and water. “All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over,” the ministry stated.