In a developing international incident, Spain’s foreign minister has urgently demanded the release of an activist apprehended by Israeli forces. The activist was part of an aid flotilla heading towards Gaza, which the Israeli navy intercepted in international waters.
Saif Abukeshek, who holds dual citizenship in Spain and Sweden and is of Palestinian descent, was taken into custody in Israel. Alongside him, Thiago Ávila from Brazil was also detained. According to a legal aid organization, both individuals have since initiated a hunger strike in response to their detention.
In addition to Abukeshek and Ávila, numerous other activists were detained by the Greek coast guard following Israel’s intervention and subsequently transported to Crete.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has voiced strong objections to the detentions. “This constitutes illegal detention in international waters, beyond the jurisdiction of Israeli authorities. I have communicated this stance to my Israeli counterpart,” Albares emphasized during a public radio interview.
Meanwhile, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, known as Adalah, has taken up the activists’ case, having visited them at a detention facility in Ashkelon, an Israeli port city. The organization reported that the men had begun a hunger strike, claiming they endured repeated beatings while in custody.
Adalah has condemned the treatment of the activists, stating that the alleged use of isolation, prolonged blindfolding, and physical assaults on them represents a serious breach of international law.
In an online post, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Abukeshek and Ávila were being questioned for possible links to the armed group Hamas. It said the two men had been granted consular visits.
Abukeshek’s detention has further strained relations between Israel and Spain, which has been an outspoken critic of the war in Gaza and formally recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024.
On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took aim at his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, while speaking at a campaign event for upcoming regional elections in southern Spain.
“Now that Netanyahu has taken foreign citizens, including a Spanish national, and brought them to Israel, I have a few things to say to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Sánchez said to applause from supporters of his Socialist party.
“First, Spain will always protect its citizens. Second, we will always uphold international law — and this is yet another violation of it,” he said. “And third, we demand the release of the Spanish citizen who has been illegally detained by the Netanyahu government.”
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Hazboun reported from Jerusalem. Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain contributed.
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