{"id":125322,"date":"2026-05-05T20:53:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=125322"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:53:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:53:58","slug":"israel-court-extends-gaza-flotilla-activists-detention-by-six-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists’ detention by six days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Web Desk(National Times)- An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign\u00a0activists taken<\/a>\u00a0from a\u00a0Gaza-bound flotilla<\/a>\u00a0by six days, a lawyer representing them said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extension is to allow police more time to interrogate them, the pair\u2019s lawyer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two, held in a prison in Ashkelon, were among dozens of activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Greece early on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other detained activists were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The representatives of Avila and Abu Keshek have accused Israeli authorities of abusing the two men, who have been on hunger strike for the past six days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flotilla\u2019s vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a previous hearing on Sunday, the court extended their detention by two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Tuesday\u2019s hearing, both men appeared with their legs shackled, an AFP<\/em> journalist reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe court granted a second extension \u2026 a six-day extension, which means the next hearing will be on Sunday,\u201d said Hadeel Abu Salih, a lawyer with Israeli rights group Adalah, which represents the activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe court gave the police what they asked for and gave them the green light to continue with this illegal measure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abu Salih said the two activists were facing \u201cpsychological torture\u201d in detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Abuse claims<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Abu Salih said the extension was granted after the police requested more time to interrogate the pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see this as an attempt to criminalise any solidarity with the Palestinian people and any attempt to break the illegal siege on Gaza,\u201d Abu Salih said, adding that Adalah plans to appeal the decision before a district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have been told by Thiago and Saif that they (Israeli police) are trying all the time to connect the humanitarian aid with Hamas to present it as a service to Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abu Salih also said presenting the pair before a civilian court was a \u201cway of spreading fear and making activists reconsider their participation in the flotillas\u201d in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate statement, Adalah alleged that the two men faced ongoing abuse in detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pair were being held in \u201ctotal isolation, subjected to 24\/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they were moved, including during medical examinations,\u201d Adalah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Adalah, the authorities have accused the pair of several offences, including \u201cassisting the enemy during wartime\u201d and \u201cmembership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No formal charges have so far been filed against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adalah\u2019s lawyers have challenged the state\u2019s jurisdiction, arguing there had been an \u201cunlawful abduction\u201d of the two activists in international waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s foreign ministry claims both individuals were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of \u201cclandestinely acting on behalf of\u201d Palestinian militant group Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry claimed Abu Keshek was a leading PCPA member, and that Avila was also linked to the group and \u201csuspected of illegal activity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla\u2019s first voyage last year was also intercepted by Israeli forces off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli siege since 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the Gaza war that started in October 2023, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Web Desk(National Times)- An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign\u00a0activists taken\u00a0from a\u00a0Gaza-bound flotilla\u00a0by six days, a lawyer representing them said. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nIsrael court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web Desk(National Times)- An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign\u00a0activists taken\u00a0from a\u00a0Gaza-bound flotilla\u00a0by six days, a lawyer representing them said. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-05T15:53:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-12-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/\",\"name\":\"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-12-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-05T15:53:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-12-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-12-2.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists’ detention by six days\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125322\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days - Nation","og_description":"Web Desk(National Times)- An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign\u00a0activists taken\u00a0from a\u00a0Gaza-bound flotilla\u00a0by six days, a lawyer representing them said. 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