Sweden Confirms Contact with Israel Over Madleen

(MENAFN) On Monday, Sweden confirmed that it is in communication with Tel Aviv after Israeli forces intercepted an aid vessel bound for Gaza in international waters, detaining the activists aboard, including Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg.

In a response to an email from a news agency, the press office of the Swedish Foreign Ministry stated that they are actively monitoring the situation following Israel's detention of activists on the Madleen aid ship.

"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and relevant missions abroad are aware of the situation and are monitoring developments," the press office stated.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Tel Aviv are in touch with local authorities and are closely following the situation, the statement added.

Early on Monday, the Madleen, a British-flagged vessel, was intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces before it could reach Gaza.

The ship was subsequently towed to an Israeli port.

"Should a need for consular support arise, the embassy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will assess how we can best assist the Swedish national," the press office further explained.

The aid mission involved a total of 12 individuals, consisting of 11 activists and one journalist.

Other activists aboard the Madleen ship include Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Turkey; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.

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