Israeli Court Just Extended Detention of Two Flotilla Activists and Nobody Expected This Move

An Israeli court just handed down a devastating blow to two Gaza-bound activists, extending their detention by six more days despite mounting international outcry.

The Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday approved the state’s request to keep Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Brazilian national Thiago Avila behind bars until Sunday, May 10. Adalah, the Israeli human rights group representing them, confirmed the decision to Al Jazeera while simultaneously blasting what they call “judicial validation of the state’s lawlessness.”

Here’s where it gets darker. Both men were among roughly 180 activists sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla when Israeli forces intercepted their vessels on April 30 in international waters off Greece, over 1,000 kilometers away from Gaza. While most activists were taken to Crete, Abu Keshek and Avila were forcibly transported to Israel for questioning, where they remain in custody.

But the real bombshell? The court approved the full six-day extension using “secret evidence” that neither the activists nor their lawyers were allowed to see. Adalah lawyers Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma are already preparing an appeal, arguing the allegations against their clients are completely “baseless” and lack any “legal grounds.”

No charges have been filed yet, but authorities are accusing both men of affiliation with a “terrorist organisation” and contact with foreign agents. The rights group counters that since these men aren’t Israeli citizens and were abducted far outside Israeli territory, Israeli domestic law shouldn’t apply to them at all.

The conditions are horrifying. Adalah reports both activists remain in total isolation at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting and forced blindfolds during movement, even during medical exams. They’ve been on a hunger strike since their abduction, consuming only water.

Lawyers who visited the prison on Saturday documented testimony of “severe physical abuse amounting to torture.” The flotilla’s organizers are now demanding international action, calling the detention “illegal kidnapping” and accusing authorities of beatings, torture, sleep deprivation, and medical neglect.

This isn’t the Global Sumud Flotilla’s first clash with Israeli forces either. Their initial voyage in August and September 2025 drew worldwide attention, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, before Israeli forces intercepted them again off Egypt and Gaza in early October.