Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
6 May 2026 | 12:28 CAT
3-minute read

Two international activists remain detained after being seized in international waters nearly 1000 kilometers from Gaza with an Israeli court extending their detention by six days amid allegations of isolation and abuse.

On 30 April 2026, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla which was carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. Israeli forces ambushed over 40 vessels and initially detained approximately 175 activists near Crete. While most activists were released in Greece, two organisers – Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila—remain in Israeli custody.

Hassen Jabareen, a leading Palestinian human rights lawyer and the General Director of Adalah (the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel) described the gravity of the situation during an interview on Radio Islam International.

For two days, Israeli soldiers forced Saif and Thiago to lie face down on the deck of a naval vessel, where they were physically restrained, kicked, doused with cold water, and threatened with being thrown overboard.

“Some of them were threatening them that we are going to throw you to the sea. Nobody will see you. Nobody will know. And then when they were taken to the prison in Israel, in Ashkelon, they were both in very, very, very cold cell, each of them alone in separation. Very, very cold cell. And they covered their eyes. Even one of them went to doctor with the covering of the eyes and beating them,” Jabareen said.

Israeli occupation forces are detaining them on false allegations, accusing them of being part of a “terrorist organisation”, supporting the “enemy” and having links to foreign agents.

“All of those charges only just because they try to enter Gaza for humanitarian causes through the boats, through flotilla.”

Jabareen said the allegations are baseless, asserting that Israel labels anyone attempting to enter Gaza as affiliated with “terrorist organisations,” while claims of links to foreign agents rest on the broad assumption that any foreign contact constitutes such a connection.

During their first appearance at the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court, the state attempted to secure a four-day initial detention period, but the court approved a two-day extension, meaning Saif and Thiago were scheduled to be held until Tuesday, 5 May.

Lawyers from Adalah argued that the court lacked jurisdiction because the activists were foreign nationals abducted in international waters far from Gaza.

At the second hearing, the state requested a six-day extension, citing the need for more time to review “secret evidence”.

Adalah lawyers will today appeal the extension decision at the district court in Beersheba in Southern Israel on the grounds that the court granted it “without imposing any limitations or judicial constraints” on the interrogation period, which is “a judicial validation of the state’s lawlessness”.

The activists remain in solitary confinement at Shikma Prison and have been on a hunger strike since their initial capture on 30 April.

Jabareen said Israel’s intention is to deter other activists from helping Gaza.

“Israel want to take the two persons and to terrorise them in order to terrorise and to put fear and to deter other activists in order to send messages to the other activists that you might face this terrible situation. In fact, it seems that Israel is happy that we are reporting that they are passing inhuman relation and torture,” Jabareen said.

He said Thiago and Saif remain in high spirits and steadfast in their mission, despite the physical and psychological abuse they have endured.

Legal efforts are underway to secure their release, though courts may allow release while still permitting charges, and alternatives such as embassy-supervised house arrest have been proposed instead of jail.

While the detentions are aimed at deterring future flotilla efforts, Israel may also seek to avoid prolonged international scrutiny.

“If Israel want to continue with this process, meaning that this process will continue to be in the media, international media against Israel, and this is what Israel doesn’t want. So also, they have interest to finish and to end this saga,” Jabareen noted.

He emphasises that increased international pressure could be decisive in securing their release.

Listen to the full interview with Hassen Jabareen on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.