ASHKELON, Israel, May 3 (Reuters) – An Israeli court has decided to extend the detention of two activists for an additional two days. They were arrested while trying to reach Gaza on a flotilla intercepted by Israeli fo...
ASHKELON, Israel, May 3 (Reuters) – An Israeli court has decided to extend the detention of two activists for an additional two days. They were arrested while trying to reach Gaza on a flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Greece, according to their lawyer on Sunday.
The activists, Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Thiago Avila from Brazil, were taken into custody late Wednesday and brought to Israel. Meanwhile, over 100 other pro-Palestinian activists on the boats were sent to the Greek island of Crete.
A spokesperson for the court confirmed that their detention will last until May 5.
On Friday, the governments of Spain and Brazil issued a joint statement denouncing their detention as illegal.
These activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, which aimed to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid. The ships departed from Barcelona on April 12.
Israeli authorities have requested a four-day extension of the arrest, citing suspicions of various offenses. These include assisting the enemy in wartime, contacting foreign agents, membership in a terrorist organization, providing services to such an organization, and transferring property to a terrorist organization. The rights group Adalah is helping with the activists' defense.
Hadeel Abu Salih, the attorney for the two men, stated that they deny the charges against them. She argued that their arrest was illegal due to jurisdiction issues, emphasizing that the mission was aimed at assisting civilians in Gaza, not militants.
Abu Salih also mentioned that Abu Keshek and Avila experienced violence during their transfer to Israel and were kept handcuffed and blindfolded until Thursday morning.
When asked for a comment, the Israeli military directed inquiries to the foreign ministry, which stated that their personnel had to intervene to stop what they described as violent resistance from Abu Keshek and Avila. They affirmed that all actions taken were lawful.