In a decision that has drawn sharp condemnation from human rights groups and global authorities, an Israeli district court rejected an appeal Wednesday challenging the continued detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a humanitarian flotilla heading to blockaded Gaza.
The two detainees — Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian descent, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian citizen — were among more than 30 activists traveling on an international flotilla that was intercepted last week in international waters off the coast of Greece. While all other activists on board were diverted to the Greek island of Crete and released shortly after the interception, Israeli commandos seized Abu Keshek and Avila, transferring them to Israeli territory for interrogation.
Earlier this week, a lower Israeli court granted authorities an extension of the pair’s detention through Sunday to allow additional questioning. Defense lawyers immediately appealed that ruling to the Beersheva District Court, but the court on Wednesday ruled in full favor of the prosecution, leaving the original detention extension in place. “Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court, keeping the previous decision in place,” lead defense attorney Hadeel Abu Salih told reporters.
An AFP journalist present at the court hearing observed that the two activists, who launched a hunger strike shortly after their arrest, appeared in court with their ankles shackled. Abu Keshek, who has stopped consuming both food and water according to his legal team, appeared visibly exhausted throughout the proceeding, while Avila remained calm.
Abu Salih and the legal team have decried the entire detention as a violation of international law, arguing that the Israeli operation was carried out without any legitimate authority in international waters. “This was an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy,” Abu Salih said, adding that the court ruling effectively gives Israeli forces “a free hand… to do it again and again.”
Adalah, the leading Israeli human rights organization representing the two activists, issued a statement calling Wednesday’s ruling “unlawful and unreasonable.” The group emphasized that the flotilla vessel sailed under an Italian flag, placing all people on board under exclusive Italian jurisdiction, making the Israeli abduction a violation of maritime law. Adalah also leveled allegations of mistreatment in detention, saying that Avila has been held in a consistently cold cell, and that both men are subjected to extended interrogations lasting most of the day about the flotilla and its organizers.
Israeli authorities have denied all claims of abuse, but have not yet filed any formal criminal charges against the pair. Israeli officials have stated the pair face accusations of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.” Israeli authorities link the two activists to the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), an organization that the United States has accused of secretly operating on behalf of Hamas, the de facto governing authority of Gaza.
The detention has already sparked international pushback: the governments of Spain and Brazil, as well as the United Nations, have publicly called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two men. “It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in an official statement.
The flotilla, which departed from ports in France, Spain and Italy, was organized with the explicit goal of challenging Israel’s 16-year blockade of the Gaza Strip and delivering badly needed humanitarian supplies to the territory, which has been devastated by months of ongoing military conflict. Israel has enforced a complete land, air and sea blockade of Gaza since 2007, controlling all access points into the enclave and severely restricting the flow of food, medicine, fuel and other essential goods.