Lawyers representing the two activists will appeal the extension decision, calling it “state anarchy.”
Posted on May 5, 2026
An Israeli court has extended the detention of two Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla activists who were kidnapped by Israeli authorities last week, says an Israeli human rights group representing them.
The Ashkelon Magistrate's Court on Tuesday accepted the state's request to extend the detention of Saif Abu Keshek of Spain and Brazilian Thiago Avila until Sunday, May 10, Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at Adalah, confirmed to Al Jazeera.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The two were among dozens of activists who had set sail for Gaza as part of the Sumud Global Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece on April 30. Organizers say that of 180 activists, most of whom were taken to Crete, Abu Keshek and Avila were taken to Israel for interrogation, where they remain detained.
“The court's decision to extend the detention of humanitarian activists kidnapped in international waters amounts to judicial validation of the state's anarchy,” Adalah said in a statement Tuesday, adding that she will appeal the decision.
The extension of the activists' detention was based on “secret evidence” that Abu Keshek, Avila and their lawyers were unable to review, Adalah said.
“Most importantly, the court granted the full six-day extension requested by the State without imposing any judicial limitations or restrictions on the interrogation period,” the group's statement said.
No charges have been brought against the two men, but Abu Keshek and Avila face several accusations, including affiliation with a “terrorist organization and contact with foreign agents,” Adalah previously told Al Jazeera.
Adalah's lawyers, Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, who represent the two activists, have argued that the accusations against them are “baseless” and have “no legal basis.”
“Because the activists were abducted more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza and are not Israeli citizens, Israeli domestic law does not apply to them,” the rights group said.
The organization also said that both activists remain in “complete isolation, subjected to high-intensity lighting 24/7 in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they are transferred, including during medical examinations.”
The organization stated that the activists continue their hunger strike and have consumed only water since their kidnapping on April 30.
Flotilla organizers on Tuesday also demanded the release of Abu Keshek and Ávila, urging the international community to take action.
“The Zionist regime has, once again, extended the illegal detention of our friends; Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Avila,” the group said in X.
“Our organizers have been illegally kidnapped in international waters, subjected to beatings and torture in Greek territorial waters and forcibly taken against their will to occupied Palestine, where they have been subjected to interrogations, death threats, sleep deprivation and medical neglect.”
On Saturday, Adalah's lawyers visited the activists in Ashkelon's Shikma prison, where they testified to “serious physical abuse amounting to torture.”
The Sumud Global Flotilla's first voyage to Gaza in August and September attracted global attention before Israeli forces intercepted the ships off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza in early October.
The crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and expelled by Israeli forces.
