Gaza flotilla activists taken to Israel for questioning
Israeli authorities are taking two activists who led the aid flotilla to Gaza and were captured by Israel in the international waters of the Mediterranean to Israel for questioning.
The activists, Palestinian-Spanish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Avila, were among dozens captured by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete.
They are members of the executive committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.
Approximately 20 boats and 175 activists were stopped by the Israeli navy.
Among those detained were six Australians, out of 17 known to have volunteered with the fleet.
Activists said Israeli forces attacked the ships, destroyed the engines and detained some on board.
The incident occurred hundreds of kilometers from Gaza and Israel from Wednesday to Thursday.
Israeli officials said they had to take action before the flotilla reached Israeli waters due to the large number of boats.
The Israeli foreign ministry said in
The Global Sumud Fleet called for international support.
“We demand that all governments do their best to pressure the Israeli regime to release those illegally abducted,” the group said in a statement Friday. he said.
The rest of the flotilla participants were released in Crete late Thursday.
Organizers said 31 of the 53 ships that set out before the intervention reached safe waters and that they would continue efforts to “break the illegal siege on Gaza.”
The fleet departed from Barcelona, Spain, in early April.
Greece’s foreign ministry said it had asked Israel to withdraw its ships from the area and was offering “good services” for activists to land in Greece and be repatriated.
Protests in solidarity with the flotilla broke out in several capitals, including Rome, Athens and Istanbul.
Spain and Brazil have not yet commented on the detention and transfer of Abukeshek and Avila to Israel.
But in a joint statement with several other countries, they said Israel’s intervention in the flotilla and detention of activists in international waters was a clear violation of international law.
The flotilla’s last attempt to reach Gaza came less than a year after Israeli authorities blocked an earlier effort by the group.
About 50 ships and about 500 activists took part in the initiative, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several members of parliament.
Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, including Avila, who claimed that Israeli authorities mistreated them during detention, which Israel denied.
