Israel deports two foreign activists seized from Gaza flotilla

Israel deported on Sunday two foreign activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, in what a rights group representing them described as a "punitive attack" on a civilian mission.

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Greece on April 30.

The pair were seized and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

"Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, from the provocation flotilla, were deported today from Israel" following an investigation, the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X on Sunday.

Israel would "not allow any breach" of the blockade on Gaza, it added.

The ministry statement did not mention its earlier allegations of the two being linked to a "terrorist organisation", over which they were interrogated in Israel.

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations had all called for the men's swift release after their detention drew widespread outrage.

On Wednesday, an Israeli court rejected an appeal contesting the pair's detention.
"From their abduction in international waters to their unlawful detention in total isolation and the ill-treatment they were subjected to, the Israeli authorities' actions were a punitive attack on a purely civilian mission," Adalah, the rights group that represented the pair, said after their release.

"The use of detention and interrogation against activists and human rights defenders is an unacceptable attempt to suppress global solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza."

Abuse claims

During their week-long detention in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Adalah claimed the two men had been subjected to "psychological abuse", including prolonged interrogations, constant bright lighting in their cells, complete isolation and transfers while blindfolded, even during medical examinations.

Israeli authorities had rejected these claims, while Israeli courts twice approved the pair's detention to allow police time for questioning.

Both men, who denied any links with Islamist movement Hamas, had launched a hunger strike while in detention.

According to Spanish diplomats, Israel provided "no evidence" linking its citizen Abu Keshek to Hamas.

His interception in international waters and subsequent detention further strained already deteriorating ties between Israel and Spain.

Relations between Spain and Israel have plummeted since the start of the Gaza war, which was sparked by the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza a "genocide".

Israel recalled its ambassador after Madrid recognised a Palestinian state in 2024, while Spain formally dismissed its own top envoy in Tel Aviv in March.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's first voyage last year was also intercepted by Israeli forces off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

Throughout the Gaza war, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely.

Agence France-Presse