Israeli justice has extended until Sunday the detention of Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, two activists from the "Gaza flotilla", arrested off the coast of Greece. Their lawyer denounces “an attempt to criminalize any solidarity with the Palestinian people”.

Published on: 05/05/2026 - 5:17 p.m. Modified on: 05/05/2026 - 5:28 p.m.

The detention of activists from the "Gaza flotilla" arrested off the coast of Greece was extended until Sunday by Israeli justice, their lawyer told AFP on Tuesday, who denounced "an attempt to criminalize any solidarity with the Palestinian people".

The judge "justified the decision by explaining that the police still had interrogations to conduct", explained at the end of the hearing Hadeel Abou Salih, lawyer for the Israeli human rights NGO Adalah, which represents the Spaniard Saïf Abu Keshek and the Brazilian Thiago Avila. She added that she would appeal this decision, hoping for a new hearing as soon as possible.

Also read: Israel detains two militants from the “Gaza Flotilla” intercepted off the coast of Greece

Spain, for its part, once again demanded the “immediate release” of its national, describing his detention as “illegal” and calling for “respect for all his rights”. In this message sent to the press, a source within the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that "the consul would continue to visit him, providing him with all the necessary protection and remaining in permanent contact with his family."

The Israeli state, which had requested this new six-day extension, accuses the two men of links with Palestinian Hamas in power in Gaza – which they firmly deny.

They arrived at the court in the coastal city of Ashkelon with their feet shackled, according to AFP journalists on site. During their interrogations, "most of the questions concerned their activity within the flotilla", said their lawyer, regretting that at this "preliminary stage" the police did not "provide" their elements to the defense.

During the hearing, she explained, the judge again listed the facts of which they are suspected, in particular "assistance to the enemy in time of war, contacts with a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organization and assistance to a terrorist organization".

Their detention is "illegal and must end now", protested Hadeel Abou Salih, "especially since these are two foreigners arrested in international waters, approximately a thousand kilometers from Gaza, and taken to Israel against their will".

“Mistreatment” and “psychological abuse”

The flotilla initially consisted of around fifty boats, with the aim, according to its organizers, of breaking the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory devastated by the war, where access for humanitarian aid remains severely restricted. The two men were arrested by the Israeli army on Thursday off the coast of Crete, along with some 175 other activists of many nationalities, all of whom were quickly released in Greece.

Also read Flotilla for Gaza: “We were kidnapped” by Israel, says Greta Thunberg on France 24

The NGO Adalah again denounced on Tuesday the "ill-treatment" and "psychological abuse" inflicted, according to it, on Saïf Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila in prison, citing eight-hour interrogations, powerful lighting in cells 24 hours a day, total isolation and systematically traveling blindfolded, even during medical visits.

The two activists have, according to the NGO, been on hunger strike since their arrest six days ago. Asked by AFP, the Israeli police have not yet responded. Authorities have denied any accusation of mistreatment.

The second attempt to access Gaza for the flotilla

This is the second attempt by the global Sumud ("resilience" in Arabic) flotilla to access the Gaza Strip. In 2025, on its 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.

The Israeli authorities had justified their arrest by saying that they had entered a prohibited zone, without invoking suspicion of affiliation with a terrorist organization as is the case today for Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila.

At the time, Israel already accused the flotilla of links to Hamas. Madrid assured that Israel had provided "no proof" of a link with the Palestinian Islamist movement.

With AFP

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