[STATEMENT] Stop the Genocide! Let the Madleen Sail!

The Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED) strongly condemns the kidnapping by the Israeli Occupation Forces of 11 activists and a journalist, also called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, including 22-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. They were taken from the civilian vessel named Madleen while on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in Palestine [1].

On June 9, news reports indicated that the Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid and sailing in international waters to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces after a military drone dropped a ‘white irritant substance’ [2]. 

This interception is a blatant violation of international humanitarian laws, which prohibit military operations against civilians [3]. APNED, a network of environmental defenders, also considers the attack on our fellow defender Thunberg as an attack on climate and social justice.

Our network also expresses its support for Thunberg’s involvement in delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians. In a June 4 interview with Democracy Now [4], Thunberg emphasized that climate justice can not exist without social justice.  “We cannot have climate justice without social justice. The reason why I am a climate activist is not because I want to protect trees. I’m a climate activist because I care about human and planetary well-being, and those are extremely interlinked. For example, when we see the genocide in Gaza, of course, there are some very obvious links, that ecocide, environmental destruction, is a very common method used in war and to oppress people.”

Thunberg also stressed that no matter the root cause of suffering, it is our moral duty to stand up against it as part of the fight for environmental justice. 

We demand that Israel immediately release the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and stop the occupation of Palestine. We call on the United Nations to take stronger action to halt the United States-backed genocide of Israel and the inhumane blockade that restricts humanitarian aid for Palestinians. 

We also demand that all countries and corporations in support of Israel stop supporting the genocide of the Palestinians. This situation has resulted in over 52,000 deaths, 1.1 million people displaced [5], and 31 million tonnes of carbon emissions in just 15 months, which exceeds the combined emissions of Costa Rica and Estonia in 2023 [6].

Release the Freedom Flotilla Coalition! Stop the Genocide! Defend the defenders!

Resources:

1. Al Jazeera (2025, June 9). Freedom Flotillas: A history of attempts to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/9/freedom-flotillas-a-history-of-attempts-to-break-israels-siege-of-gaza.
2. Newsweek (2025, June 9). Greta Thunberg Says She Has Been Kidnapped by Israeli Forces- What We Know. https://www.newsweek.com/greta-thunberg-kidnapped-israel-2082634.
3. International Committee of the Red Cross (1949). https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-protection-civilian-persons-time-war.
4. Democracy Now (2025, June 4). Greta Thunberg Speaks from Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation. https://www.democracynow.org/2025/6/4/greta_thunberg_gaza_aid_flotilla
5. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2025, May 14).  Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (14 May 2025). https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-14-may-2025.
6. Ground Report (2025, June 4). How Israel’s War on Gaza Is Fueling a Global Climate Disaster. https://groundreport.in/latest/israel-gaza-war-climate-impact-9333647.