Rights group Adala said on Saturday, May 9th, that Israel will release today two foreign activists detained from a Gaza-bound flotilla before handing them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Greece on April 30.
The pair were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.
Adalah said it was closely monitoring developments “to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days.”
On Tuesday, an Israeli court had extended the two pro-Palestinian activists’ detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers. The lawyers then filed an appeal against their continued detention, but it was rejected by a district court on Wednesday.
Both Avila and Abu Keshek had been on hunger strike while in detention, Adalah said.
Israeli authorities have previously rejected allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men Israel says are affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the alleged aim of breaking Israel’s ‘blockade’ of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
