The Catalan-Palestinian from the flotilla arrested by Israel arrives in Barcelona

BarcelonaIsrael released the two detainees from the Gaza Flotilla this Sunday, Catalan-Palestinian Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian Thiago Ávila, after "six brutal days," according to activists, detained in a prison in the south of the country. Abukeshek arrived this afternoon at El Prat airport, where he was received by family, friends, and fellow activists, and Ávila will fly from Egypt to Brazil. The Israeli navy arrested the two members of the civilian humanitarian mission last week, when the Israeli army stormed about twenty boats of the initiative in international waters.

Upon landing in Barcelona, Abukeshek delivered a message of perseverance: "We will not give up." Addressing the media, the activist assured that in the coming days he will travel to Turkey to rejoin the Flotilla. This Friday, after last week's Israeli raid, several boats resumed their course to Gaza. The boats departed from Greece, and the organization announced they would make a stop in Turkey. "Our journey has only just begun," Abukeshek reiterated from El Prat airport.

Before taking off for home, in a video published on social media from Athens, Abukeshek made his first statements after being released, referring to the mistreatment that the defense has denounced this week: "I am sure that the treatment I have had to endure is not comparable to the suffering experienced by Palestinian prisoners, including children and women. We have heard the testimonies about their daily torture and human rights violations," stated the Catalan-Palestinian, who called for continued mobilizations and to "not forget" the Palestinian prisoners.

After confirming the release of the two activists, Adalah, the legal center for the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, which has acted as the defense for the accused, has condemned "the entire process" as, it points out, "a flagrant violation of international law". "From their abduction in international waters to the illegal detention in total isolation and the ill-treatment to which they have been subjected", the organization indicates in a statement.

In statements this Saturday to ARA, Hadeel Abu Salih, one of the defense lawyers, indicated that it was not clear what had motivated the release. But she warned: "The fact that even the Shabak [the Israeli intelligence agency], after a full week of interrogations, has not filed any formal charges demonstrates that this entire process was a farce without legal basis".