Overview
- Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday it deported Saif Abukeshek of Spain and Brazil’s Thiago Ávila after holding them for more than a week.
- Abukeshek landed in Barcelona on Sunday and said he will rejoin the flotilla effort and pursue legal action over his treatment.
- The two were seized in international waters near Crete on April 29–30 during a raid that sent about 175 others to Greece while only they were taken to Israel.
- Their lawyers at Adalah detailed isolation, 24‑hour bright lights, and hours‑long interrogations, and Amnesty International and UN experts called for an independent investigation.
- Spain arranged Abukeshek’s transfer via Egypt’s Taba crossing, and the outcome could shape scrutiny of how Israel enforces a Gaza naval blockade that has been in place since 2007.