Greta Thunberg’s flotilla drama deepened Tuesday after Israel’s Foreign Ministry revealed newly discovered documents linking Hamas to the Global Sumud Flotilla, an activist campaign backed by the climate agitator. According to the ministry, “dozens of the ships participating in the ‘Sumud’ flotilla” are owned by Hamas through a Spanish front company, Cyber Neptune, run by operative Saif Abu Kashk. “Thus, these ships are secretly owned by Hamas,” the ministry confirmed.
The documents also included a 2021 letter from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, urging unity with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA). Israel designated PCPA a terrorist group the same year, describing it as Hamas’s diplomatic arm abroad. The ministry noted, “The organization operates under the pretense of civilian cover and is responsible, on behalf of Hamas, for mobilizing actions against Israel, including violent demonstrations, marches against Israel, and demonstration and provocation flotillas.”
The revelations come after weeks of internal turmoil within Thunberg’s flotilla. Organizers clashed over the inclusion of a “queer activist,” Thunberg herself abruptly left the steering committee, and the group has already faced delays and even a fire.
Among the flotilla’s leaders is Zaher Birawi, a longtime Hamas-linked activist in Europe who Israel identified in 2013 as a Hamas operative. With the flotilla now 150 miles from Gaza, Israel vowed to block its entry, stressing it “will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade.”
