Greta Thunberg says ‘real action’ must back up Palestinian state recognition

MADRID, Spain — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg challenges countries that have recognized a Palestinian state to back up what she called “symbolic gestures” with more pressure on Israel to end its offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Thunberg is attempting to reach Gaza on a flotilla of boats aiming to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver food and other humanitarian supplies to the shattered enclave.

“Of course, it’s good that the Palestinian cause is more on the agenda, but these symbolic gestures will lead nowhere unless they are accompanied with real action,” Thunberg tells Reuters via video conference while at sea near Greece.

She says states had a legal duty to do everything in their power to stop what a United Nations Commission of Inquiry and human rights groups have described as “genocide.”

Israel denies its military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide. It says recognition of a Palestinian state gives a “reward to terrorism.”