JERUSALEM:
Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the foreign ministry said Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces.
The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.
They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday.
Israel said it had removed around 175 activists from the flotilla, but organisers accused Israeli personnel of “kidnapping” 211 people.
Two of them, Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, were taken to Israel “for questioning by law enforcement authorities”, the foreign ministry said on X.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denounced Israel’s detention of Abu Keshek as “illegal”, warning it came at a moment of already deteriorating ties between the two countries.
