Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation have appeared before an Israeli court, a rights group defending them said on Sunday.
The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the Palestinian enclave.
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Saif Abu Keshek was part of a flotilla of more than 50 vessels that tried to reach Gaza to deliver supplies
(Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters)
They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday, with Israel saying it had removed 175 activists—two of whom were taken to Israel for questioning.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Thiago Ávila, from Brazil, appeared in court in Ashkelon on Sunday.
“The state asked to extend their detention by four days,” Miriam Azem, the international advocacy coordinator at the rights group Adalah, told AFP.
On Saturday, Adalah said its lawyers had met the two detained activists at Shikma prison in Ashkelon.
Ávila told the lawyers he had been “subjected to extreme brutality” when the vessels were seized, adding that he was “dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice.”
Since arriving in Israel, he said he had been “kept in isolation and blindfolded,” according to Adalah.
Abu Keshek was “hand-tied and blindfolded … and forced to lie face-down on the floor from the moment of his seizure” until reaching Israel, the group said.
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Thiago Ávila, who along with Saif Abu Keshek was taken to Israel for interrogation after their flotilla was intercepted near Greece
(Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters)
The Foreign Ministry said the two activists were affiliated with an organization that was subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions.
That group—the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA)—has been accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of Hamas.”
The ministry said Abu Keshek was a leading member of the PCPA, and that Ávila was also linked to the organization and “suspected of illegal activity.”
Spain has condemned the detention of Abu Keshek and rejected the Israeli accusation against him.
Organizers of the flotilla said the Israeli interception took place more than 620 miles (1,000km) from Gaza, and that their equipment was smashed, leaving them facing a “calculated death trap at sea.”
Dozens of the intercepted activists disembarked on Friday at the Greek island of Crete, according to an AFP journalist.
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s first Mediterranean voyage to Gaza in the summer and autumn of 2025 drew worldwide attention. Israeli forces intercepted the boats off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza in early October 2025. Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and expelled by Israeli forces.