‘If Israel can treat a well-known white person with a Swedish passport like this...’: Great Thunberg recalls ill treatment by Israel

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg recalled the Gaza flotilla incident after the peace deal in the region. The 22-year-old alleged that she was assaulted and treated badly by Israeli authorities after being detained by them.

When her belongings were returned, her red suitcase was covered in graffiti. Across it, someone had written cuss words in black letters, surrounded by an Israeli flag and a sexual image, she claimed.

“The bag was taken by the Israeli military from our boat and came back like this,” Thunberg told Aftonbladet.

“They’re like five-year-olds,” she added.

“This is not about me or the others from the flotilla. There are thousands of Palestinians, hundreds of them children, being held without trial right now — and many are most likely being tortured," the activist said.

“If Israel, with the whole world watching, can treat a well-known, white person with a Swedish passport like this, imagine what they do to Palestinians behind closed doors," she added.

Greta Thunberg claims ‘harsh treatment’ by Israel

While being detained, Greta informed her government that she was being harshly treated by the Israeli authorities after she was held by the IDF from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. As per a latest report, Israeli forces are also reported by another detainee to have taken photographs where Thunberg was allegedly forced to hold flags. The identity of the flags is unknown.

A Swedish official, who visited the activist in prison, said that she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water. The information was given by the Swedish foreign ministry via email to people closer to Greta, the Guardian reported.

The email read, "The embassy has been able to meet with Greta. She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added, the British newspaper reported.