"This is where things get tricky: I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say about Palestine Action in this column without getting chucked in jail myself. Last July, you see, the British government took the extraordinary, and hugely criticized, step of terming the group a terrorist organization on the same level as the Islamic State militant group. This is despite the fact that Palestine Action has killed nobody; its efforts are focused on trying to shut down weapons manufacturers enabling the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Even the government’s own intelligence assessment, a declassified version of which was obtained by the New York Times, undercut its condemnations of the group, finding that most of their activities “would not be classified as terrorism” under Britain’s legal definition. Still, the British government has been very busy arresting thousands – many of whom are elderly activists – for the “crime” of peacefully holding up a sign saying: “I support Palestine Action.” "

 AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies] 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/06/greta-thunberg-palestine-action-arrest 

Greta Thunberg came to stay – and my kid may have inadvertently helped her get arrested

Arwa Mahdawi

 

The activist had held a sign written with my daughter’s crayon. Try explaining that to a four-year-old 

 

Tue 6 Jan 2026 05.00 EST

 

‘I’m back in the US now and I can’t quite fathom what Britain, under the leadership of a former human rights lawyer, has become.’  Photograph: Prisoners for Palestine/AP

 

It was 6am. London. A few days before Christmas. My four-year-old is singing at the top of her lungs and charging around my parents’ house on a hunt for the perfect crayon. There is nothing particularly unusual about this scene except for the fact that the crayon in question was for Greta Thunberg. The world’s most well-known activist needed a writing tool and my daughter, O, was on the case. (Remember this crayon: it’s going to be important later on.)

O, I should note, had absolutely no idea who Greta was. We’re not longtime chums or anything like that. Rather Greta was in London to support the Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers. She needed somewhere to stay and my dad, who is a Palestinian refugee, and appreciative of anyone speaking up about the place where he was born but can’t return to live in, keeps an open house for activists who need a bed or a meal. When the visit had been hastily arranged by a friend of a friend of my sister a couple days earlier, we’d tried to explain to O that Greta was a famous activist who tried to help people and the environment.

“Does famous mean beautiful?” my princess-obsessed child asked. Oh dear, I thought, I have failed as a parent and a feminist.

“No, it doesn’t. And remember being beautiful is not important – what’s important is being kind,” I said, trying to redeem some feminist points.

“How dare you!” O replied. This has been her favourite catchphrase for a while now. I have no idea where she picked it up; probably from a kid’s show. I had thought nothing of it until the surprise Greta visit.

“Please don’t say that while Greta is here,” I told O. I didn’t want her to think we were making fun of her memorable rebuke. But once again, I failed at parenting: everyone knows that the best way to get a kid to keep doing something is to suggest they stop doing it.

While Greta may be famous, the hunger strikers she was coming to support are definitely not; they have had very little mainstream media attention. Indeed, if you are reading this in the US, you may not have heard about them at all. So, in brief, eight activists awaiting trials for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action have been on hunger strike since 2 November, the anniversary of the Balfour declaration.

This is where things get tricky...  READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/06/greta-thunberg-palestine-action-arrest

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“I'm not scared of Israel. I’m scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity" Greta Thunberg

“I'm not scared of Israel. I’m scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity" Greta Thunberg

 

"A ripple effect- They may not have reached Gaza's shores, but the crew still delievered... For the first time sine October 2023 Palestinain could fish without being shot at by the Israeli navy (they've been too busy chasing the flotillas)."

OFFICIAL UPDATE FROM GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA 

Organization CONFIRMS the Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessel Sirius along with other boats in international waters. 

 38 PEOPLE from 16 COUNTRIES KIDNAPPED

The people of Gaza thank the Global Sumud Flotilla for giving them an opportunity to fish by distracting the occupation forces whose mission is genocide by hunger.

 Global Sumud Flotilla Commentary

@Globalsumudf

 

Images of activists Rima Hassan and Greta Thunberg have emerged as they are being deported — both smiling defiantly. 

 

Their courage exposes the injustice of a system that deports those bringing aid, while protecting those enforcing an illegal siege. 

 

You can detain people, but you can’t deport the truth

 

Middle East Eye

@MiddleEastEye

“From the sea to Gaza - we will not forget you. We will not let you be forgotten. This is the voice of humanity.” 

 

These were the last words recorded from the Marinette, the last active boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, before Israeli forces intercepted them on Friday. 

 

With roughly 500 participants from different countries aboard at least 42 vessels, the Global Sumud Flotilla set out carrying humanitarian aid in an historic effort to open up a humanitarian corridor in the Gaza strip.   

 

It was the largest civilian-led initiative ever to try and break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza.   https://x.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1974069720119656459

  

 

Israeli Embassy in Athens under siege last night as the city comes out to protest the holocaust in Gaza and the IDF kidnapping of comrades on the Global Flotilla.

Reporter: “Why do you think so many countries and governments around the world are just ignoring what’s happening in Gaza?” Greta Thunberg: “Because of racism.”

Mike Hanini Odetalla

optensodSrm815914lh7l3l1a94c1hihmuu65ci0am9f25221u63afiach0u  ·

She said out loud what we Palestinans have been screaming for years!

 

It's the racism stupid!

 

Reporter: How did the Israelis treat you, we saw them giving sandwiches?

 

Greta Thunberg: They probably have posted lots of PR stunts, they did an illegal act by kidnapping us in international waters but that’s not the real story here. The real story is the genocide in Gaza and systematic starvation.

 

Reporter: Are you worried about the others?

 

Greta: Yes…I’m calling for everyone who can to mobilize to demand their immediate release and, of course, to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but also a ceasefire and most importantly an end to the occupation, an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis.

 

Reporter: “Why do you think so many countries and governments around the world are just ignoring what’s happening in Gaza?”

 

Greta Thunberg: “Because of racism.

Compare the courage of Greta Thunberg’s Gaza aid mission with the inaction and complicity of western governments- The Madleen is no ‘selfie yacht’. It is a symbol of human compassion in a world that has decided to look away

Greta Thunberg aboard the Madleen when it sailed from Catania, Italy, on 31 May. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

by Owen Jones

Tue 10 Jun 2025 01.00 EDT

Imagine this: over the weekend, Britain – shocked by the scale of suffering in Gaza – decided to bypass international norms and institutions, and used its navy to deliver much-needed food, baby formula and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip’s ports.

This, of course, did not happen. Instead, it was left to activists on the Madleen, including Greta Thunberg, to make a symbolic attempt to break the blockade of aid and raise awareness of a looming “starvation crisis”. In the early hours of Monday morning, the ship was boarded by Israeli soldiers, allegedly in international waters, and the crew were taken to Israeli ports in anticipation of being repatriated. Lawyers for the activists have claimed that this is overreach by the Israeli armed forces, but the crew should consider their treatment light-touch. In 2010, the Israeli military stormed another aid flotilla and killed 10 activists in the process.

Since the news broke, Israel’s propaganda machine has gone into overdrive, dismissing the Madleen as a “selfie yacht”, a line echoed by western media outlets. “There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies,” declared a shameless Israeli Foreign Ministry. Israel knows all about those ways, because it has systematically blocked them.

It’s worth noting that the Freedom Flotilla Coalition – the movement behind the Madleen – was launched in 2010, 13 years before 7 October. The blockade on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza has been in place for nearly two decades. As an adviser to the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert put it: “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.”

In 2012, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a leaked official document in which government officials calculated the minimum number of calories required for a human not to starve. The point: to make life miserable for the people of Gaza without incurring global outrage through mass starvation. A year before 7 October, the World Food Programme warned of the “dire humanitarian situation there”, noting that around half of Gaza’s caged population was “severely food insecure”.

In the past 20 months, Israel has ratcheted up the blockade.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/10/greta-thunberg-gaza-aid-mission-madleen

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

Madleen Kolab of Palestine, became known as the first and youngest professional fisherwoman in the Gaza Strip... Freedom Flotilla's ship 'Madleen' headed to Gaza - humanitarian aid and nonviolent action STOPPED by Israel

"Perhaps everyone has heard the story of the ship “Madleen”, which sailed from the island of Sicily heading toward the Gza Strip on a bold mission to break the siege imposed on it. But has anyone asked why the ship was named “Madleen”?

 

The ship was named in honor of a PaIestinian woman from Gaza named Madleen Kolab, who became known as the first and youngest professional fisherwoman in the Strip.

 

Madleen began fishing at an early age to support her family amidst economic and social challenges and the ongoing blockade.

 

Accompanying her father—an experienced fisherman—on his trips from the age of six, from him she learned the basics of the trade, such as swimming, casting nets, and handling boats.

 

At the age of thirteen, her father fell seriously ill, rendering him unable to work. As the eldest daughter, Madleen took on the responsibility of managing the fishing boat and supporting her family.

 

The Gza Strip has been under a severe blockade since 2007, which limited the area fishermen could access to just 3–6 nautical miles (down from 20 pre-2007), drastically reducing the available fish stock and affecting livelihoods. Braving these restrictions at times put her life in danger.

 

In 2016, Israel confiscated her father’s boat and equipment...But Madleen did not give up—she rented an alternative engine to operate a tourist boat and continued fishing.

 

She took full responsibility for supporting her family and her father’s medical treatment.[Because of the restricted fishing area], she would only catch about 3 kilograms of fish daily, which sold for around 30 shekels (about $8 at the time).

 

Despite these heavy responsibilities, Madleen continued her studies alongside her fishing work.

 

Achieving what was an unconventional livelihood for women, Madleen sought to pass on her experience to other girls. She organized workshops to teach girls fishing and net-making, and established a women’s fishing club to support women working at sea and the wives of fishermen, encouraging women to take on this experience.

 

After the outbreak of war on the Strip in October 2023, Madleen lost both her father and her livelihood, compounding her struggles and hardship. 

 

The story of Madleen Kolab embodies the spirit of civil resistance and determination to live...Today, her name sails aboard the ship “Madleen” to shed light on the suffering of our people and to support the effort to break the siege."

 

— Mohammed Al-Fateh [Translated from Arabic]/ H/t Maher Alareer

(Link to a documentary film that tells the story of Madleen Kolab)

https://youtu.be/MCPmudTytcg

 </ p>

#BreakingTheSiege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us.  

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is among the deadliest and most destructive worldwide since World War II: Israel's violence and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid have created a huge humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  

Freedom Flotilla Coalition

@GazaFFlotilla

·

Jun 3

Listen to some of the #FreedomFlotilla Coalition volunteers share why our nonviolent action is critical, just before they boarded the #Madleen in Catania. Keep track of our vessel and friends as they sail to #Gaza via #MarineTraffic or our website. Tag your Foreign Ministries to ensure that they safeguard the 'Madleen', and end their active participation in Israel's genocide and siege of Gaza. #BreakIsraelsSiege #EndTheBlockade #Madleen #FreedomFlotilla #HuwaidaArraf #GretaThunberg #DrMo #YasmineAcar #ThiagoAvila #IsraelonNotice

Greta Thunberg- Swedish climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to mitigate the effects of climate change aboard 2025's Freedom Flotilla Coalition's Madleen

 

Freedom Flotilla Coalition

@GazaFFlotilla

Campaigning on & off the water to end Israel's illegal Gaza blockade & for freedom of movement 4 all Palestinians

Madleen 2025 ...

The #Governments of the 12 activists that have been kidnapped by #Israelis aboard the #Gaza bound aid ship #FreedomFlottila #Madleen need to demand their immediate release. Stopping this #UK ship in #InternationalWater & stealing everything on board is ILLEGAL. #IsraelIsInsane!

Mosab Abu Toha

@MosabAbuToha

·

5h

Israel is making fun of the world. They are deporting the Madleen crew from Israel as if the crew was heading to Israel. 

 

These individuals were heading to Gaza. 

 

They were in international waters. 

 

To attack the boat at night while carrying guns and to take them to a place they were not heading to is called “kidnapping.” 

 

And to force them to sign deportation documents or go to a detention center? What is this called?

We won’t stop speaking out about Gaza’s suffering – there is no climate justice without human rights - Greta Thunberg

 

Greta Thunberg

@GretaThunberg

The death rate in Gaza is at a historic high, with thousands of children killed in just a few weeks. Demanding an end to this inexcusable violence is a question of basic humanity. Silence is complicity. You cannot be silent in an unfolding genocide.

 

 

We won’t stop speaking out about Gaza’s suffering – there is no climate justice without human rights

Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future Sweden

Young climate activists haven’t ‘been radicalised’ – solidarity with marginalised people has always been at the heart of our message

More than 15,000 people, of whom at least 6,000 were children. That’s how many people Israel has reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip in a matter of weeks – and those numbers are still rising. Israel has bombed basic societal infrastructure and civilian targets such as hospitals, schools, shelters and refugee camps. Israel has imposed a siege, preventing food, medicine, water and fuel from reaching the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in the occupied Gaza Strip, leading Oxfam to accuse Israel of employing “starvation as a weapon of war”.

Dozens of United Nations experts have described the situation as “a genocide in the making”, hundreds of international scholars have warned of an unfolding genocide and prominent Israeli genocide expert Raz Segal has called it “a textbook case of genocide”. But most of the world, particularly the so-called global north, is looking the other way..... READ MORE

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/05/gaza-climate-justice-human-rights-greta-thunberg

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES or quotes IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]