JUST IN: Israel will release and expel Saif Abukeshek, Spanish activist from the Gaza flotilla | International
According to recent reports, the following story has emerged from the international scene.
Nine days after Israel illegally captured them in international waters a thousand kilometers from its border, the Spaniard Saif Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila – the two activists of the flotilla to Gaza that he took to its territory and kept imprisoned without charges – will be released and expelled from the country, their lawyer, Hadeel Abu Salih, from the NGO Adalah, has informed EL PAÍS. Abukeshek will spend this Saturday in the hands of the immigration authorities, who will guard him until his expulsion in the coming days, Adalah said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has specified that it will be through the Taba Pass, bordering Egypt, according to the Spanish Embassy in Tel Aviv. A team from the Spanish Embassy in Cairo, following instructions from Minister Albares, has moved to the border point to provide all protection and assistance to Saif, reports Miguel González. The announcement (which the Israeli authorities have not made public) comes with both activists on hunger strike and just on the eve of a new court hearing to assess the possible extension of their detention without charge. On Tuesday, the Ashkelon city magistrate’s court already extended it for six days and the Beer Sheva magistrate’s court rejected the appeal that his defense had presented the next day. The two activists have never been charged. The court had been extending his imprisonment without charges at the request of the secret services to investigate them. They were questioned mainly about their work in the flotilla, which they helped organize and in which they participated until April 30, when the Israeli army boarded about twenty of their vessels in international waters in the Mediterranean. He then released 175 of the activists in Greece and, surprisingly, retained and took Abukeshek and Ávila to Israel. The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, with Sally Issa, wife of Saif Abukeshek, on Monday in Barcelona. BARCELONA CITY COUNCIL (Europa Press) Israel considers them suspects of five serious crimes: providing aid to the enemy in times of war, membership in a terrorist organization, providing services to a terrorist organization, transfer of assets to a terrorist organization and contact with a foreign agent. If they had been found guilty of at least one of them, they would have spent several years in prison. Abukeshek, a Palestinian and also a Swedish national, and Ávila were on a hunger strike in protest of their imprisonment and only drank water. The Spaniard did it in the last court hearing, when his lawyer protested in the courtroom because he had been asking for an hour and a half that the agents guarding him give him a drink. As a result of this six-day extension (as many as the secret services requested), Abukeshek also stopped drinking water. Saif Abukeshek (left) and Thiago Ávila, aboard the flotilla, on April 18. Max Cavallari (AP) The two have been imprisoned in isolation, in a cold cell with the light on 24 hours a day, according to their lawyer at Tuesday’s hearing. The Brazilian’s mother, Teresa Regina de Ávila e Silva, died in Brasilia while he was in prison. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had requested that both be released “immediately,” considering their detention “unjustifiable” and “a serious affront to international law.” The Spanish Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Spain, Dana Erlich, on two occasions (there are no ambassadors, due to the deterioration of the bilateral relationship) to protest the extension of Abukeshek’s detention. Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, where the Spaniard resides, called for Abukeshek’s release on Monday after meeting with his wife, Sally Issa. Two Navarrese activists from the flotilla, Patxi Calleiras and Lander Aurrekoetxea, had also started a hunger strike in solidarity. “We are working intensely so that when Saif leaves, he returns to Spain with his family as soon as possible. It is a moment of great happiness and we are not going to spare any effort for his quick return to Spain,” Albares said in an audio statement. On Friday, ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla that Israel did not intercept began reorganizing the convoy to continue toward Gaza. They set sail on Friday from Greece to Turkey (which prevented the departure of a previous flotilla, in 2024) with the intention of regrouping at least 57 vessels there and advancing during the day and close to national waters to make another early interception and drone attack difficult, reports Ignacio Ladrón de Guevara.
What This Means:
Experts suggest this event marks a turning point that may influence policy decisions worldwide.
The implications of this story extend beyond borders and could affect millions of people globally.
We encourage our readers to follow this developing story for the latest information.
Source: This article was originally published in another language by Internacional en EL PAÍS and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.