The Ashkelon Magistrate's Court on Tuesday evening extended the remand of four leaders of the Israeli Arab sector who took part in the Gaza-bound sail .
The four, led by head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, Sheikh Raed Salah, were brought to the courtroom secretly and taken into an inside room. One of the detainees, Lubna Masarwa, was held in an Israel Prison Service car until the start of the discussion.
The other two detainees are Hamas Abu Dabas, head of the Islamic Movement's southern branch, and Mohammad Zeidan, chairman of the Arab Higher Monitoring.
After an eight-hour discussion, Judge Dina Cohen extended their remand by one week. The judge said that she was convinced that releasing the suspects would lead to a disruption of the legal proceedings and would put public peace at risk.
Aware of the media attention, Salah maintained a relaxed expression, appeared amused and waved at his many supporters who arrived at the court. A commotion broke out when dozens of the sheikh's followers and his family members were forced to remain outside the small courtroom.
Salah smiling during remand hearing (Photo: Tsafrir Abayov)
Salah's lawyer, Attorney Orna Cohen, said that the four suspects' arrest was illegal and said they had been kept in detention for close to 40 hours, since the IDF forces took over the Marmara ship.
"When they were arrested on the ship there was no request to arrest them, and their freedom was thus revoked while not allowing them to meet a lawyer."
The State and police representatives said the detention hours should be calculated from the moment the ship reached the Ashdod Port, adding that the 24 hours of detention which the law permits had yet to pass.
Attorney Sarit El-Ami said that some of the defense's claims were "impudent", leading to a commotion in the room. In response, the suspects' attorneys called on the judge to intervene.