Israel Deports Saif Abu Keshek And Thiago Ávila After Abducting Them On Global Sumud Flotilla

Israel deported two pro-Palestine activists, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila, after Israeli forces abducted them aboard Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla vessels intercepted in international waters.

Countercurrents said the Global Sumud Flotilla, including more than 50 vessels, set sail from France, Spain and Italy on April 12 to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave, described as home to about 2.3 million Palestinians.

Al-Jazeera Net

Devdiscourse reported that Israel deported the two activists on Sunday after detaining them for slightly over a week for leading an aid flotilla attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli navy intercepting them off the coast of Crete.

In Gaza, Devdiscourse also described an Israeli strike that hit a vehicle in Al-Amal neighbourhood in the southern city of Khan Younis late Sunday morning, killing at least two people including a Hamas police officer, and naming Col. Wessam Abdel-Hadi as head of the police investigation department in Khan Younis.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the two activists “professional provocateurs,” saying “Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” as Devdiscourse and The Independent both reported.

The Independent said Spain and Brazil condemned “the kidnapping of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel,” and it added that the activists’ detention sparked solidarity protests in several countries.

Al-Rai

Countercurrents reported that Adalah confirmed Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila would be freed on Saturday and that the pair would be handed over to immigration authorities and held in custody pending their deportation.

The New Arab reported that Adalah said the two were “held unlawfully by Israel” and that they were “held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission,” while Israeli authorities denied allegations of abuse and had not filed any charges against either man.

Devdiscourse described the fatalities in Gaza as the latest among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since an October fragile ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, while adding that the shaky ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

It said Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing at least 850 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, and it also stated that four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Middle East Monitor reported that UN experts demanded the immediate release of activists detained after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza in international waters, saying they were “seriously concerned” by the seizure of 22 civilian boats and the detention of 180 people about 500 nautical miles off Israel’s coast on April 29.

Those UN experts said the interception was “a blatant violation of international law,” and they warned that “at least 35 individuals described severe mistreatment and sexual assault, that may amount to torture,” while also stating that Israel must allow and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza residents as a party to the Fourth Geneva Convention.