Climate activist Greta Thunberg has broken her silence over her detention by Israeli forces, alleging she was beaten, humiliated and subjected to “torturous” conditions during five days at a notorious desert prison.
The Swedish campaigner, who was among 437 activists intercepted whilst attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, has described a harrowing ordeal that included guards stamping on her iconic frog hat, forcing her to pose with an Israeli flag, and returning her suitcase defaced with the word “whore” alongside obscene graffiti.
Thunberg, 22, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet she initially resisted speaking about her treatment because she did not want to detract from the suffering of Palestinians. However, she has now detailed systematic abuse at Ketziot prison in the Negev desert, a facility typically used to hold Palestinian security prisoners accused of involvement in terrorist activities.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising more than 40 vessels carrying food, water and medicine, set sail from Barcelona on August 31 before being systematically intercepted by Israeli naval forces approximately 70 nautical miles from Gaza’s coast on October 1 and 2. The operation took place during Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Describing the moment of her capture, Thunberg said Israeli police grabbed her, pulled her to the ground, and threw an Israeli flag over her. “They put a flag in the corner and kicked me every time the flag touched my face,” she recounted to Aftonbladet. “They dragged me to the opposite side from where the others were sitting, and I had the flag around me the whole time. They hit and kicked me.”
The activist claimed guards singled her out for particularly harsh treatment, forcing her into cable ties and lining up to take selfies with her whilst she sat restrained. “After a while, my hands were put in cable ties, very tight. A bunch of guards lined up to take selfies with me as I sat there,” she told the Swedish outlet.
She described guards as lacking “empathy and compassion” and complained they repeatedly photographed her throughout her detention for what appeared to be propaganda purposes. In one humiliating incident, Thunberg said guards tore off her signature frog hat, threw it on the ground, and proceeded to stomp and kick it in what she described as a tantrum.
The 22-year-old was also ordered to change out of her “Free Palestine” t-shirt before being transferred to Ketziot prison, where conditions reportedly deteriorated sharply. She alleged detainees received minimal food and clean water, forcing them to drink from taps near toilet sinks. Several fellow activists fell ill during their detention, she claimed.
Thunberg described being held in bug-infested cells and suffering dehydration and rashes she believes were caused by bedbugs. Correspondence between the Swedish Foreign Ministry and Thunberg’s associates, obtained by The Guardian, confirmed she had informed embassy officials about insufficient food and water, along with the suspected bedbug bites.
In perhaps the most disturbing allegation, Thunberg claimed 60 detainees were crammed into a small outdoor cage in scorching 40-degree heat. “We begged the whole time: Can we have water? Can we have water? In the end, we screamed,” she said. “The guards walked in front of the bars the whole time, laughing and holding up their water bottles. They threw the bottles with water in them into the rubbish bins in front of us.”
When people fainted from heat exhaustion, guards allegedly responded by threatening to gas them. “Then guards came and said, ‘We are going to gas you.’ It was standard for them to say that. They held up a gas cylinder and threatened to press it against us,” Thunberg recounted.
She also alleged guards regularly shook cell bars at night whilst shining torches, and frequently forced detainees to stand during nocturnal checks, preventing proper sleep.
The activist came face to face with far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during her detention. She claims he accused her of being a “terrorist who wants to kill Jewish babies” during his visit to inspect prison conditions.
Ben-Gvir later publicly stated he was “proud” of the harsh treatment flotilla activists received, declaring that anyone who supports terrorism deserves “the conditions of terrorists.” He added that participants should “experience the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.
Upon her deportation to Greece on October 6, Thunberg discovered her red suitcase had been vandalised with a crudely drawn penis, the words “Whore Greta,” and an Israeli flag. She claims the luggage had been confiscated by Israeli forces and returned in this condition. Aftonbladet published a photograph showing Thunberg examining the defaced suitcase at Athens International Airport.
Multiple other activists corroborated aspects of Thunberg’s account. Turkish journalist Ersin Celik told media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg,” alleging she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag.” He claimed guards did “everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others.”
Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino, who was also detained, told reporters that Israeli forces left flotilla members without fresh water for two days. Another Italian journalist, Saverio Tommasi, said Thunberg was singled out for mockery, with guards tying her arms and positioning an Israeli flag next to her “just for mockery.”
Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, who was amongst those detained, claimed activists were held “in a maximum security prison where there was no rule of law, they didn’t respect any of our rights.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has vehemently denied all allegations of mistreatment, branding them “brazen lies” in a statement posted on social media. Officials insisted all detainees’ legal rights were fully upheld and that activists had access to food, water, legal counsel and medical care throughout their detention.
The ministry claimed Thunberg herself did not lodge any formal complaint about mistreatment with Israeli authorities whilst in custody. Court documents from an October 5 hearing before Israel’s Population and Migration Tribunal showed she requested deportation to Sweden but made no mention of abuse during proceedings.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasised that the only documented violence involved a Spanish activist who allegedly bit a female medical staff member at Ketziot prison. The ministry also noted that Thunberg and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation, choosing instead to prolong their stay in custody.
However, Ben-Gvir’s own public statements appear to contradict official denials of harsh treatment. The ultranationalist minister told Israeli media he had personally visited Ketziot to ensure protesters received “the minimum of the minimum” in accordance with protocols he imposed on Palestinian security prisoners.
“They receive conditions for terrorists here, for everything, terrorist sweatpants, terrorist conditions. This means, there is a minimum of the minimum, that’s what I promised and that’s how we are fulfilling it,” Ben-Gvir told Channel 14.
Thunberg, who lives in a commune in Sweden where she subsists partly on food salvaged from rubbish bins, admitted she does not know what happened to the humanitarian aid she hoped to deliver to Gaza. The 437 activists were detained as part of what Israel characterised as the largest attempt yet to breach its 18-year maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory.
This was Thunberg’s second attempt to reach Gaza by sea. She was previously deported from Israel in June after another flotilla she joined was intercepted. Between the two incidents, she has spent approximately 10 days in Israeli custody.
The United Nations declared in August that famine conditions exist in parts of Gaza, a finding Israel has rejected. Israeli officials maintain the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from importing weapons, and accuse the terrorist group of systematically looting humanitarian aid that enters the Strip.
Legal representatives for the flotilla activists are now preparing complaints to United Nations human rights bodies. Swedish lawyer Sena Eliküçük told Aftonbladet she intends to report alleged violations to relevant UN authorities and may pursue a joint complaint to the International Criminal Court.
Thunberg has also criticised the Swedish embassy for what she characterises as abandoning activists despite pleas for help. “There are no words to describe the war criminals who are allowed to walk free, even in our own country,” she said, though it remains unclear to whom specifically she was referring.
Around 150 of the original 437 detained activists remained in Ketziot prison as of Monday, with lawyer Lubna Tuma reporting that 40 were on hunger strike, preferring their food reach Palestinians in Gaza instead.
The controversy has sparked international condemnation and protests in major cities including Rome, Athens, Istanbul and Buenos Aires. Italy’s largest trade union called a general strike in protest at the treatment of activists, whilst Greece issued a “strong written protest” to Israel over what it termed “unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour” by Ben-Gvir.
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