Arrested by Israel off the coast of Greece, two activists from the “Gaza Flotilla” were presented Sunday before Israeli courts, which extended their detention for two days. They were informed that they would be questioned by Israeli domestic intelligence on suspicion of "affiliation with a terrorist organization."

Published on: 03/05/2026 - 11:17 Modified on: 03/05/2026 - 23:01

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Two activists from the “Gaza Flotilla”, of Spanish and Brazilian nationality, arrested by Israel off the coast of Greece, appeared on Sunday May 3 before an Israeli court which extended their detention by two days, according to an Israeli NGO.

The Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek and the Brazilian Thiago Avila were presented in the morning to the court in Ashkelon, a coastal town where they are detained. According to an AFP photographer, the Spaniard arrived in the courtroom with his feet shackled by chains and the Brazilian with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

The state had “asked to extend their detention by four days,” according to Miriam Azem of the Israeli human rights NGO Adalah.

The NGO's lawyers had previously been able to see the two activists in their prison in Shikma. According to Azem Adalah, they described an "extremely brutal" arrest, and were informed that they would be questioned by Israeli domestic intelligence on suspicion of "affiliation with a terrorist organization."

Thiago Avila told lawyers he was "dragged face down and beaten so badly that he lost consciousness twice." He added that, since his arrival in Israel, he had been "kept in solitary confinement, blindfolded", according to Miriam Azem.

Claims rejected by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “contrary to the false and unfounded allegations prepared in advance, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila were at no time subjected to torture,” his spokesperson, Oren Marmorstein, told AFP.

According to this ministry, 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.

As for Thiago Avila, he "works with PCPA and is suspected of illegal activities", according to the ministry.

During the hearing, their lawyer argued that "they were part of a humanitarian mission aimed at providing aid to civilians in Gaza, and not to any other organization, whether terrorist or not."

“We reject all the accusations that have been presented (...) and demand the immediate release of these two men,” added Hadeel Abou Salih, leaving the court.

An “illegal” and “unacceptable” arrest for Spain

Brazil and Spain denounced their arrest, and Spanish diplomacy denied any link between its national and Hamas.

Israel "has not provided any evidence to support this accusation", declared Saturday the head of Spanish diplomacy José Manuel Albares, and even if this were the case, "there are legal avenues in democracy, in the rule of law", to relay them.

He described the arrest of the Spanish national in international waters as “completely illegal” and “unacceptable”, “outside any jurisdiction”.

On Sunday, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs again demanded the "immediate release" of its national, in a message sent to AFP, specifying that the Spanish consul in Tel Aviv had accompanied "the illegally detained Spaniard" to the hearing.

Some 175 activists of many nationalities 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 previous flotilla interceptions. Several countries have denounced an “illegal” operation.

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

This is the second attempt by the Sumud Global Flotilla (“resilience” in Arabic) 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.

With AFP

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