• Detainees include Spanish and Brazilian activists
• Spain terms detention illegal, demands immediate release

JERUSALEM: Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the Israeli foreign ministry claimed on Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces.

The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday.

Israel said it had removed around 175 activists from the flotilla, but organisers accused Israeli personnel of “kidnapping” 211 people.

Two of them, Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, were taken to Israel “for questioning by law enforcement authorities”, the foreign ministry said on X.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denounced Israel’s detention of Abu Keshek as “illegal”, warning it came at a moment of already deteriorating ties between the two countries.

“We are facing an illegal detention in international waters, outside any jurisdiction of the Israeli authorities so Saif Abu Keshek must be released immediately so that he can return to Spain,” Albares told Rac1 Radio.

“This is an episode that further strains our relationship...(with Israel) because of how unacceptable this situation is, because a state does not conduct itself in this manner.”

Worsening ties

Ties between Israel and Spain have nosedived since the Gaza war sparked by the Oct 2023 attacks, with Israel angered by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s unrelenting criticism of its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors.

Israel’s foreign ministry claimed that the two activists were affiliated with an organisation that was sanctioned by the US Treasury.

That group, the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), has been accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Palestinian group Hamas.

Albares rejected the allegation, saying: “The information I myself have requested indicates that no link can be established between Saif Abu Keshek and Hamas”.

Activists beaten

Organisers of the latest flotilla said the Israeli interception took place more than 1,000 kilometres from Gaza.

They said their equipment was smashed and the intervention left them facing a “calculated death trap at sea”.

Dozens of intercepted activists disembarked on Friday at the Greek island of Crete, according to an AFP journalist. Organisers published photos on X showing two activists with bruises on their faces, while one participant said in footage that Israeli forces had beaten them several times.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2026