President Javier Milei targeted Greta Thunberg on Wednesday, claiming she was seeking “media attention” by attempting to deliver aid to Gaza via a flotilla. Thunberg was intercepted and deported by Israeli authorities before she could reach shore.

Milei made the incendiary remarks during a special Knesset plenum session held in his honor on Wednesday. The Argentine president is currently on a three-day diplomatic trip to Israel.

Thunberg and her crew set sail with the intention of supplying Palestinians in Gaza with needed supplies. Israel’s blockade of the territory has prevented multiple human rights organizations from delivering food and medicine to the war-torn region since the October 7 attacks by Hamas. A report from the Integrated Food Security Classification initiative released last month found that as many as 500,000 are currently facing starvation.

“[She] became a hired gun for a bit of media attention, claiming that she was kidnapped when there are actual hostages in subhuman conditions in Gaza,” Milei said.

An embassy move in the works

During his speech, the president also announced his intention to move Argentina’s embassy in Israel from the outskirts of Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem. 

Last year, Milei announced his intention to pursue such a plan, but today’s speech confirmed that the government aims to open a new embassy in 2026.

This controversial decision mimics that of United States President Donald Trump, who moved his country’s embassy in December 2017 from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before recognizing the latter as the capital of Israel. The general assembly of the United Nations condemned the proclamation while urging other countries “to refrain from setting up diplomatic offices in Jerusalem.”

Milei was introduced to the Knesset by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest for an assortment of crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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