{"id":784578,"date":"2026-05-09T16:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784578\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:07:21","slug":"israel-to-deport-gaza-flotilla-activists-detained-for-past-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784578\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel to deport Gaza flotilla activists detained for past week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel will release two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla from detention Saturday, then hand them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation, said the rights group representing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the [Shin Bet] intelligence agency informed Adalah\u2019s legal team that Global Sumud Flotilla activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released from Israeli detention today, Saturday 9 May 2026,\u201d the rights group Adalah said in a statement, adding the pair \u201cwill be handed to Israel\u2019s immigration authorities later today and kept in custody pending their deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were brought to Israel for questioning last week after their flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli Navy in international waters off Greece.<\/p>\n

Israel has accused both individuals of being affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group Washington has said is \u201cclandestinely controlled by Hamas,\u201d referring to the Palestinian terror group. The PCPA is sanctioned by Israel and the US.<\/p>\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla was the second initiative in a year aiming to break an Israeli naval blockade on war-ravaged Gaza, which rights groups say has suffered shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel sparked the war in the enclave, though Israel has touted increased aid.<\/p>\n

The flotilla\u2019s vessels with 170 activists had set sail from France, Spain and Italy, and were intercepted off the coast of Crete, hundreds of nautical miles (over 1,000 kilometers) from Israel. With the exception of Avila and Abu Keshek, all the activists were freed last Friday in Greece.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPeople protest against the interception of the Gaza flotilla by Israeli forces near Greek waters, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/p>\n

Adalah said it was closely monitoring developments \u201cto make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended the pair\u2019s detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.<\/p>\n

The lawyers then filed an appeal against their continued detention, but it was rejected by a district court on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The United Nations, Brazil and Spain have all called for their swift release. Spain summoned<\/a> Israel\u2019s top envoy in Madrid to protest the \u201cunacceptable and intolerable\u201d detention of a Spanish activist from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the foreign minister said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Avila and Abu Keshek \u201chave been held unlawfully by Israel for over a week after being taken into Israeli detention,\u201d Adalah said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tFootage shows the Israeli Navy intercepting vessels taking part in a Gaza flotilla hundreds of miles from the Strip, April 29, 2026. (Social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout their detention, they were held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The two have been on a hunger strike since their arrest, according to Adalah, and the organization said Wednesday Abu Keshek had also started refusing water.<\/p>\n

Israeli authorities have previously rejected allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.<\/p>\n

Adalah previously said authorities had accused the pair of \u201cassisting the enemy during wartime\u201d and \u201cmembership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.\u201d<\/p>\n


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