{"id":113236,"date":"2026-05-14T09:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/113236\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:07:11","slug":"saif-abu-keshek-on-israeli-detention-and-gaza-flotilla-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/113236\/","title":{"rendered":"Saif Abu Keshek on Israeli detention and Gaza flotilla raid"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I was violently handcuffed and forced to lie down on my face,” begins Saif Abu Keshek<\/a>, recounting the abuse he faced at the hands of Israeli forces after being abducted from a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, was among dozens of activists taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla <\/a>(GSF) \u2014 a humanitarian mission made up of 22 boats and around 180 activists seeking to break Israel’s siege on Gaza<\/a> and deliver aid to the enclave’s civilian population amid the ongoing genocide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But on 30 April, the flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Greece.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Abu Keshek and Brazilian activist Thiago \u00c1vila<\/a> were detained and taken to Israel for questioning, while the remaining activists were transferred to the Greek island of Crete and later released.<\/p>\n

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations had all called for the men’s swift release after their detention drew widespread outrage.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“The use of detention and interrogation against activists and human rights defenders is an unacceptable attempt to suppress global solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.”<\/p>\n

Saif Abu Keshek waves a Palestinian flag after being released by Israeli authorities on 10 May [Getty]<\/p>\n

Both Abu Keshak and \u00c1villa were released and deported on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Jubilant supporters chanting “Long live the flotilla” and waving Palestinian flags welcomed him to Barcelona’s El Prat airport on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But freedom came after nearly two weeks of what Abu Keshek says was violent treatment, isolation and psychological intimidation.<\/p>\n

Torture and resistance<\/p>\n

The Palestinian flotilla activist was not intending on sailing to Gaza, but was still kidnapped and kept in solitary confinement for 12 days by Israeli forces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I stayed in solitary confinement until they transported me onto another ship. I think it was a submarine. It was a really big one, and I had to climb up the stairs of rope until I reached the top, and they took pictures of me,” Abu Keshek tells The New Arab, as he recalls the physical and emotional torture, his dry and silent hunger strike, as well as his resilience to keep fighting for liberation, even in the harshest of conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After asking for the handcuffs to be removed as a result of injury, the intensity increased, and Abu Keshek was instead handcuffed four times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It was two on the legs and two on the arms, and I was blindfolded,” he shares.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was told he was there for “supporting enemies during wartime and having contact with foreign agents”, explaining he was not officially charged, but these were “the accusations of the investigation”.<\/p>\n

Saif Abu Keshek appears before the court in Beersheba, Israel, on 6 May 2026 [Getty]<\/p>\n

Abu Keshek described multiple transportations to and from the court, without sufficient presence of a lawyer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“For me, this process was like torture because of these very tight handcuffs,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the moment Abu Keshek arrived on the first naval vessel, he started a hunger strike alongside 61 other activists on board.<\/p>\n

After a week of solitary confinement, he escalated that to not only refraining from eating, but from drinking water and speaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The experience from the first moment is about domination. Who has power over you? And this is something they were reminding me of with every moment of the detention\u2026 reminding me who has power over how long I will stay here,” Abu Keshek tells The New Arab.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The activist explained that as he felt the power of the Israeli forces getting stronger, this was his chance to peacefully escalate each step of the strike.<\/p>\n

First, he stopped eating; then he stopped talking; eventually, he stopped drinking water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“[The dry, silent hunger strike] was one of the few things I could do to maintain a certain level of control, determination and resilience,” he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Israel’s ‘propaganda campaign’<\/p>\n

As both a Palestinian and a prominent figure within the Global Sumud Flotilla, Abu Keshek said he was fully aware he could become a target for Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n

He had not originally intended to sail all the way to Gaza, planning instead to leave the flotilla in Turkiye before the risk of interception significantly increased.<\/p>\n

According to Abu Keshek, Israeli authorities had already launched what he described as a “very strong” propaganda campaign against the movement last year, attempting to portray both him and the GSF as linked to “terrorism”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said accusations that he was affiliated with Hamas became one of the central justifications used to prolong his detention.<\/p>\n

Abu Keshek firmly rejected the claims as “totally false”, adding that his release itself undermined the allegations.<\/p>\n

“The fact that I’m here \u2014 alive and out of prison \u2014 is living proof of that,” he said. “Because we know how Israel functions.”<\/p>\n

He added, “If any of these accusations were true, I wouldn’t have seen the light of day. They were constantly interrogating me about the last time I visited my family in Palestine, even though it was three or four years ago.”<\/p>\n

His family’s involvement in his detention extended far beyond the cell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protesters in Barcelona, Spain gathered outside the European Commission headquarters to protest against the detention of Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila by Israeli authorities [Getty]<\/p>\n

During a speech at a GSF assembly in Marmaris, he said that whilst he was in prison, there was a drone over his family’s house in Spain, where he now lives.<\/p>\n

Abu Keshek told The New Arab that, rather than questioning him throughout his detention, Israeli forces were much more focused on enforcing their views on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They really believe the propaganda they are enforcing. It’s their understanding of the situation, their perception of different realities\u2026 for them, the way they see it is the right way. There is no occupation\u2026 Palestine doesn’t exist,” Abu Keshek explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“And it’s very difficult because you want to answer, but at the same time you want to maintain calm and not be driven into an argument they will use against you. It’s not nice to be called a terrorist, to be defined as a terrorist if you are mobilising civil society, and those are your values,” he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I grew up in a refugee camp [in Nablus], and I saw my dad being taken away from our home. I was shot in the face whilst throwing stones at Israeli forces when I was a child, and I still have the scar on my chin. That whole experience was my motivation to fight for this bigger struggle,” he shares with\u00a0The New Arab.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Then I had my own three kids and wanted a different life for them. But I have to fight for their life. Nobody is going to give it to them. So when you have to deal with all of that, and then you sit on a chair for hours, being told you are a criminal because you want a better life. It hits you, it hits you hard,” Abu Keshek revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The activist shares that the psychological and physical treatment he received in Israeli prison<\/a> wasn’t just a form of mental torture for him, but also an attempt to weaken the whole movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Their approach was that we take these two people. We break them, we criminalise the movements, and we also create chaos,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People staged a demonstration demanding the release of Thiago Avila and Saif Abu Keshek in Naples, Italy [Getty]<\/p>\n

The movement continues<\/p>\n

As the flotilla prepares to set sail from Turkiye on the final leg of its journey to Gaza in the coming days, Abu Keshek shares that he will continue his work on land.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He suggests that actually sailing is complementary to the cause, but mobilising on land is just as important.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Sailing is one method. As a movement, we are using multiple strategies to mobilise strikes, work with civil unions, and organise politically. So, taking every corner of the world and converting it into political pressure,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The only reason that I am sitting here today is that these tools work.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

In light of media attention on the movement throughout the next leg of the sail, Abu Keshek highlights the importance of keeping the focus on Palestine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In reference to violence inflicted by Israeli forces, he says: “It’s very important we don’t reclaim the experiences Palestinians go through\u2026 we should take every opportunity to talk about what happens inside Palestine.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the continuation of centring Palestinian voices within the narrative of the flotilla, “We can transform the violence and aggression from zionist governments into one of our strengths.”<\/p>\n

This is not only about Palestine, but a fight that spreads worldwide, he added, expressing: “We have to keep in mind that the solidarity work we do is not a moment. It is a permanent act, which means we are here today not with a purpose just to sail, but with a purpose to continue working together for as long as it takes, not only for Palestine but [for the liberation] of all of humanity.”<\/p>\n

Alice Chapman is a freelance journalist from the UK who focuses on the ground and human stories.\u00a0She aims to bridge the gap between politics and humanity, reporting on the voices of those most affected by political conflict. <\/p>\n

Alice was also one of the flotilla activists detained by Israeli forces\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow her on Instagram: @itsalicechapman<\/a><\/p>\n