Israel extends detention of Gaza flotilla activists, lawyers say

An Israeli court has extended the detention of two Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla activists who were abducted by Israeli authorities last week, an Israeli rights group representing them says.

The Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday granted the state’s request to extend the detention of Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Brazilian Thiago Avila until Sunday May 10, Miriam Azem, the international advocacy coordinator at Adalah confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The pair were among dozens of activists who had set sail for Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece on April 30. Organisers say that from 180 activists, the majority of whom were taken to Crete, Abu Keshek and Avila were taken to Israel for questioning, where they remain in detention.

“The court’s decision to extend the detention of humanitarian activists abducted in international waters amounts to judicial validation of the state’s lawlessness,” Adalah said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that it will appeal the decision.

The extension of the activists’ detainment was based on “secret evidence” that Abu Keshek, Avila and their lawyers were not permitted to review, Adalah said.

“Crucially, the court granted the full six-day extension requested by the state without imposing any limitations or judicial constraints on the interrogation period,” the group’s statement read.

No charges have been filed against the two men, but Abu Keshek and Avila face several accusations, including affiliation with a “terrorist organisation and contact with foreign agents”, Adalah has previously told Al Jazeera.

Adalah lawyers Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, representing the two activists, have argued that the allegations against them are “baseless” and have no “legal grounds”.

“Because the activists were abducted over 1,000 kilometers away from Gaza and are not Israeli citizens, Israeli domestic law does not apply to them,” said the rights group.

The organisation also said both activists remain in “total isolation, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they are moved, including during medical examinations”.

The organisation said the activists are continuing their hunger strike, consuming only water since their abduction on April 30.

The flotilla’s organisers also demanded the release of Abu Keshek and Avila on Tuesday, urging the international community to take action.

“The zionist regime has, once again, extended the illegal detention of our friends; Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Avila,” the group said on X.

“Our organizers have been illegally kidnapped in international waters, subjected to beatings and torture in Greek territorial waters, and forcefully brought against their will to occupied Palestine, where they have been subjected to interrogations, death threats, sleep deprivation and medical neglect.”

On Saturday, Adalah lawyers had visited the activists at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, where they gave testimony of “severe physical abuse amounting to torture”.

The Global Sumud Flotilla’s first voyage to Gaza in August and September drew worldwide attention before Israeli forces intercepted the boats off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza in early October.

Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and expelled by Israeli forces.