Israel deported two steering committee members of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Sunday, the final chapter in an episode that saw the Israeli navy intercept a convoy of 22 boats and 175 activists attempting to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian citizen, were the last activists held in Israeli custody after the interception, which occurred overnight from Wednesday to Thursday several hundred miles off the coast of Crete — far from both Gaza and Israeli waters.
The two men, both members of the flotilla’s steering committee, had been detained for slightly over a week. The Israeli Foreign Ministry described them as “professional provocateurs” in a post on X on Sunday and said “Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
At the time of the arrests, Israeli authorities said Abukeshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and Ávila was “suspected of illegal activity,” without providing evidence. The Associated Press reported Sunday that no formal charges have been publicized against either activist.
Israel said it intercepted the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved. Activists, however, said Israeli forces stormed their vessels and smashed engines during the operation. The Global Sumud Flotilla’s stated mission is to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
Spain and Brazil condemned what a joint statement at the time called “the kidnapping of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel.” The detentions sparked solidarity protests in several countries.
After arriving in Athens on Sunday, Abukeshek said he would continue protesting Israel’s blockade and what he described as the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. “We have to continue mobilizing. We can’t forget the Palestinian prisoners,” he said in a video posted on the flotilla’s social media account.
The latest flotilla attempt came less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a larger previous effort by the same group. That operation