The tension and delays created cracks in the organizing committee. Early this week, Greta Thunberg was spotted dragging her suitcase on the dock, leaving the ship "Family," which hosts the executive committee, and moving to the ship "Alma."
The ships of the "largest ever" flotilla to Gaza – dubbed "Sumud" – continue sailing toward Gaza's shores, aiming to "break the Israeli blockade," with more than 40 vessels having passed Malta and six additional ships waiting in Greece. But the major drama unfolded among flotilla members themselves – climate activist Greta Thunberg was removed from the executive committee and forced to switch ships, while the media advisor left the flotilla entirely.
The Italian leftist newspaper Il Manifesto, along with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, provided a glimpse behind the scenes of the Gaza flotilla this week. According to initial plans, the flotilla was expected to have reached Gaza since departing from Barcelona's shores on August 31. Instead, the ships became stuck for weeks in Tunisia, experiencing a series of malfunctions and crises.
The problems began, as recalled already in Port Sidi Bou Said, where on September 9 and 10, flotilla members claimed two ships were attacked by drones with incendiary bombs, causing fires on deck, and also distributed documentation of the incident.
Following the attacks, Tunisian authorities cast doubt on this version and also ordered the fleet to move to Bizerte port in the north, where additional delays began – police demanded to photograph and take fingerprints of all participants, and simultaneously, fuel ran out at the port after a mega-yacht depleted the port's fuel reserve. Several activists left the mission, claiming they couldn't withstand the mental and physical pressure.
The tension and delays created cracks in the organizing committee. Early this week, Greta Thunberg was spotted dragging her suitcase on the dock, leaving the ship "Family," which hosts the executive committee, and moving to the ship "Alma," according to the Italian newspaper. Her name was also removed from the list of management members on the official website. According to sources who spoke with Il Manifesto, Thunberg opposed the flotilla's media policy, which focused too much on the flotilla's internal dramas and too little on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
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