The activists “will be handed over to Israeli immigration authorities later today and held in detention pending their expulsion”
The two Global Sumud Flotilla activists still detained, Spanish-Palestinian Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian Thiago Ávila, will be released and handed over to Israeli immigration authorities today, the internal intelligence service informed the Adalah organization.
“Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shabak informed Adalah’s legal team that Global Sumud Fleet (GSF) activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released today,” the NGO said in a statement released today.
The activists “will be handed over later today to Israeli immigration authorities and held in detention pending their expulsion,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has already spoken out about the release of the two men, announcing that the Israeli authorities have informed the Spanish Consulate in Tel Aviv that the Spanish-Palestinian activist Saif Abukeshek would be released “in the next few hours”.
Albares explained in an audio message sent to Spanish news agency EFE by the Ministry that, upon his release, Saif Abukeshek will be deported from Israel through the Taba crossing in Egypt.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs assured that the ministry is working intensely so that, when he leaves Israeli territory, the Spanish-Palestinian activist returns to Spain with his family “as quickly as possible”.
“It is a moment of great happiness and we will spare no effort for his quick return to Spain”, he highlighted.
Saif Abukeshek was detained on April 30 in Greek waters by Israel, while traveling aboard the Global Flotilla Sumud bound for Gaza, and was transferred, together with Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, to the Shikma detention center, in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, accused of terrorism crimes by the Israeli authorities.
They were detained along with around 170 other activists when the Israeli Army intercepted around half of the ships belonging to the Sumud Global Flotilla, around 100 kilometers west of the Greek island of Crete, in international waters.
However, in the case of these two, Israel decided to extradite them to its territory to face trial. The remaining activists were taken to Greece and released.
The Israeli human rights organization Adalah, which represents the two detainees, denounced the “mistreatment” and “psychological abuse” inflicted on Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila in prison, citing eight-hour interrogations, intense lighting in the cells 24 hours a day, total isolation and systematically blindfolded movements, even during medical examinations.
The Sumud Global Flotilla for Gaza was initially made up of around fifty boats and, according to its organizers, aimed to break the Israeli blockade of the war-torn Palestinian territory and bring humanitarian aid, which remains severely restricted.
Among the approximately 170 activists who made up the flotilla were three Portuguese.
