Flotilla activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek released from Israeli prison

The arrest of the Brazilian Ávila and the Spanish-Palestinian Abu Keshek took place 1,000 kilometers from Israeli territorial waters and no formal charges were ever brought against the two.

Ten days after being seized by Israeli soldiers in international waters while aboard an Italian-flagged ship of the Global Sumud Flotilla, Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek were set to be moved from the Ashkelon prison to a deportation center and sent back to their home countries, perhaps as early as Sunday. As of Saturday night authorities in Tel Aviv had not officially announced the news, but on Saturday morning the Shabak (Israel’s internal intelligence agency) communicated the decision to the NGO Adalah, which has offered its legal support to the two Flotilla members throughout their entire detention period.

Further confirmation came from Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who informed Sally Issa, Abu Keshek’s wife, of his imminent release. The breakthrough came after several appeals against an act whose arbitrariness was immediately obvious. There was significant pressure on Israel from various sides including the UN; in practice, however, this was fully in line with Israel's modus operandi in such........

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