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Greta Thunberg is slated for deportation from Israel, where she finds herself in a holding cell plagued with bedbugs. This comes after her unsuccessful effort to break the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip with an aid flotilla, and she will depart on a flight funded by the Greek government.
The 22-year-old Swedish climate advocate is scheduled to fly out of the Jewish nation on Monday, departing from Ramon Airport to Athens. She will be joined by 27 Greek activists who were part of the large-scale Global Sumud Flotilla, according to a report from YnetNews.
About 170 flotilla activists have already been deported back to their home countries.
Thunberg was aboard one of 42 ships carrying over 450 activists intercepted by the Israeli Navy in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday. Israel’s defense minister labeled the flotilla as an operation tied to Hamas terrorists.
Activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in protest of the war were arrested by Israeli forces and jailed a Ketziot prison, a facility in the Negev desert, where Thunberg has complained of dehydration, lack of food, and horrific conditions in her bedbug-infested cell.
“She also stated that she had developed rashes, which she suspects were caused by bedbugs,” Sweden’s Foreign Ministry wrote in an email to Thunberg’s parents, The Guardian reported.
“She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
The outspoken activist also told Swedish officials she was forced to pose for photos holding flags — though it remains unclear which flags she was made to display.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims as “outrageous lies,” according to the Jewish outlet.
“All legal rights of the detainees are fully upheld,” ministry officials said.
“It is noteworthy that Thunberg and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on extending their detention. Thunberg did not file any complaints with Israeli authorities about these absurd and baseless claims — because they never happened.”
Thunberg also took part in a failed pro-Palestine flotilla mission in June that was intercepted before reaching Gaza’s shores.