Spain slams ‘illegal’ Israeli detention of Spanish citizen from Gaza flotilla

By AFP and ToI Staff 2 May 2026, 6:28 pm

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Spain condemns the “illegal detention” of one of its citizens who was taken to Israel after being detained during an Israeli military interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters off Crete earlier in the week.

Palestinian-Spanish citizen Saif Abu Keshek “must be released immediately so that he can return to Spain,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tells Rac1 radio.

“We are facing an illegal detention in international waters, outside any jurisdiction of the Israeli authorities,” Albares says.

Abu Keshek and Brazilian national Thiago Ávila were the only two flotilla members detained and taken to Israel after their flotilla was intercepted, with Israel releasing the some 175 other activists aboard the ships to Greece.

Saif Abu Keshek is a leading member of the PCPA, a front for the Hamas terrorist organization. The PCPA is an organization designated and sanctioned by the United States.

Saif Abu Keshek serves as a liaison between senior Hamas officials and international actors, and he assists… pic.twitter.com/17U9KJ6wDI

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 1, 2026

According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Abu Keshek and Ávila are both members of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), “an organization designated and sanctioned by the United States as a Hamas front.”

The ministry has said the two will be taken for questioning by law enforcement authorities and will receive a consular visit from the representatives of their respective countries.

The Israeli Navy intercepted the latest flotilla, comprising 58 boats, overnight between Wednesday and Thursday off the coast of Crete, hundreds of nautical miles (over 1,000 kilometers) from Israel. During past attempts to challenge the naval blockade, the Navy has intercepted the boats much closer to Gaza’s shores, which the flotilla was expected to reach over the weekend.

The Foreign Ministry has said that “due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law.”