Hundreds of people gathered this Saturday in front of the European Commission headquarters in Barcelona to demand the release of the two activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla arrested by Israel, the Palestinian-Spanish Saif Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila.
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The protesters, many of whom waved Palestinian flags, carried banners such as “Stop Israel. Stop terrorism,” “EU: enough complicity with Israel,” or “free the hostages.”
The activists have declared a hunger strike
These two activists, who have declared a hunger strike, will appear tomorrow Sunday before the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court in a criminal hearing to decide on the extension of their detention by the Israeli authorities.
Abukeshek was born in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus and has been living in Barcelona for years with his wife and three children. Sally, his wife, explained to EFE this Saturday that Abukeshek is in a “stable” state of health, despite having some “minor injuries.”
Bruna Casas / Reuters
“He is in shock. He lamented that yesterday was one of his daughters’ birthdays and that he couldn’t even call her to congratulate her,” Sally recounted.
Sally assured that her husband had no intention of reaching Gaza with the Global Sumud Flotilla to avoid dangers and that he was sailing on a boat that served as an observation vessel. His intention was to provide logistical services, as he did in the first flotilla that set sail from Barcelona a few months ago, when it only advanced to an Italian port and did not continue the journey further.
In this regard, she made an appeal to the Spanish Government to do “everything possible” to secure their release, and called on civil society to pressure with protests in front of Israeli embassies and consulates to put an end to “the violence that Israel exerts on Palestinian citizens.”
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Denies links with other organizations
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused these two activists of having ties with the Palestinian militant organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which, it claims, has been classified as a terrorist group by the United States.
Sally said she does not know why they are trying to link her husband to this organization and limited his role to the support he provided to the Global Sumud Flotilla, “a civil society movement whose acts and movements are legal.” “They are not breaking any law; what they want to do is bring humanitarian aid to Gaza,” she stated.
She also assured that Abukeshek was “mistreated” when he was boarded on the ship, where they left him “alone,” with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes blindfolded, according to her account.
Sally added that the situation her husband is experiencing should not make people “forget” the suffering endured in Palestine and Gaza. “We have to talk about it and continue working for the struggle of the Palestinian people,” she added.
Meanwhile, some of the Catalan activists have begun returning to Catalonia in recent hours. One of the crew members, Mariona Tasquer, a UB student, arrived this Saturday at noon and joined the demonstration in Barcelona, from where she went to the protesters in front of the Spanish Government Delegation in Catalonia. Two others, one of them from Terrassa, will arrive this weekend at Barcelona-El Prat airport, according to ACN.
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