Two pro-Palestinian activists, who were aboard aid ships en route to Gaza, were taken to Israel on Saturday for questioning. Among the 175 activists arrested Thursday off the Greek coast, they are the only ones not to have been released. Spain, where one of the two men comes from, described the Israeli decision as “completely illegal”.

Published on: 05/02/2026 - 7:59 p.m. Modified on: 05/04/2026 - 03:13

Two activists from the “Gaza Flotilla” arrived in Israel on Saturday, May 2, to be questioned. They are part of the crew of the humanitarian flotilla of more than 20 boats, which left European coasts in April towards the Gaza Strip, and was intercepted Thursday off the Greek coast by Israel.

The Israeli decision was described as “completely illegal” by Spain, the country of origin of one of the two men.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek is "one of the leaders" of the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a charitable association accused by the United States and Israel of being affiliated with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in power in Gaza.

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The Brazilian Thiago Ávila, one of the main organizers of the flotilla, "works with PCPA and is suspected of illegal activities", Israeli diplomacy also said on X on Saturday, indicating that the two men were going to be "interrogated".

Israel's action is "completely illegal", reacted the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, rejecting any link between Saif Abu Keshek and Hamas.

“I am worried, because we have a Spanish citizen who is illegally detained, who was apprehended in international waters, outside of any jurisdiction, by the authorities of another state,” José Manuel Albares told Spanish radio on Saturday, speaking of an “unacceptable” situation.

Read alsoIn Gaza, Israel uses water as a “punitive weapon” against the Palestinians, denounces MSF

For the minister, who based himself on information available to the Spanish government, "it is impossible to establish the slightest link" between Saif Abu Keshek and the Palestinian Islamist movement.

Israel "has not provided any evidence to support this accusation", he emphasizes, and even if it were the case, "there are legal avenues in democracy, in the rule of law", to relay them.

Hunger strike

Some 175 activists were arrested on Thursday, on around twenty boats of this new flotilla aimed, according to its organizers, at breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, where access to humanitarian aid remains severely restricted.

The arrest, "carried out peacefully" according to Israel, took place hundreds of kilometers from Gaza, in international waters off Crete, much further from the Israeli coast than during previous flotilla interceptions.

Also read Housing, food, money: how do the inhabitants of Gaza survive?

Israel released all the activists in Greece after an agreement with its authorities, except Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek.

Israeli human rights organization Adalah was able to visit them in Shikma prison, located in Ashkelon on the coast, where they are being held. They are to be questioned there by Israeli internal intelligence on suspicion of “affiliation with a terrorist organization”, they were informed.

Thiago Avila described to the NGO's lawyers an arrest of "extreme brutality", claiming to have been "dragged face to the ground and beaten so badly that he fainted twice".

They have both started a hunger strike but are drinking water, according to the NGO, which called their treatment a "serious violation of human rights."

According to Adalah, they will see a judge on Sunday morning for the extension of their detention.

According to José Manuel Albares, who called for the "immediate release" of Saif Abu Keshek, the Spanish consul in Israel was summoned at midday to the port of Ashkelon to see him.

The episode "stretches even further" the already execrable relations between Spain and Israel, recognized the head of Spanish diplomacy.

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Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the most critical European voices towards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu since Israel launched its devastating offensive against Gaza, in response to the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas on October 7, 2023.

This is the second attempt by the Sumud Global Flotilla (“resilience” in Arabic) to access the Gaza Strip. In 2025, on his first trip, several hundred activists, including Swedish Greta Thunberg and Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, were arrested at sea, transferred to Israel and then expelled.

With AFP

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