Catalan-Palestinian activist Saif Abukeshek arrived in Barcelona on Sunday evening after Israel deported him to Egypt on Saturday. Abukeshek, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla, spent ten days imprisoned and on hunger strike after his capture by Israeli forces in international waters.
Accused of terrorism by Israel, Abukeshek landed at Barcelona airport where family and friends greeted him. Speaking to the media, he announced his next step is to "pack my bags" and return to "reunite with my companions in Turkey." He told around fifty people at El Prat airport, "Our journey has only just begun."
Abukeshek stated his "priority" remains to denounce the situation of "thousands and thousands of Palestinian prisoners" who, he claimed, suffer "torture" and "continuous violations" in Israeli prisons. "We will not give up," he reiterated, joined by his family and other Flotilla activists. He also reported mistreatment by Israeli police and army during his detention and called for continued discussion of Palestine and the "suffering" of the Palestinian people.
Denouncing Israeli Actions and Government Complicity
Speaking to reporters, the activist claimed his detention on the high seas shows that "Israel violates human rights anywhere and everywhere." He warned that next time, they would not wait for the flotilla to cross Greece, but would capture them "in Ibiza." What happened, he said, was "the result of impunity, of the complicity of governments that allow Israel to act as it does."
Abukeshek described the suffering and "screams from torture" he heard at the detention centre where he was held with another deported activist, Brazilian Thiago Ávila. He stated that in the face of atrocities committed by Israel, which he claims leaves Palestinians without humanitarian aid or rights, "our priority must remain humanity, that there are rights for everyone. That human rights are for everyone." He also highlighted that 2.3 million Palestinians "have lived under a blockade for seventeen years."
Call for Mobilisation and End to Complicity
The activist called on civil society to mobilise and lamented that in Gaza, "schools and hospitals continue to be bombed" by a "genocidal" Israeli government acting "with the complicity of other governments." He claimed Israeli police and soldiers he spoke with during his detention told him "Palestine does not exist." When he asked about the military occupation in the 1967 occupied territories, they told him it was a "protective force." When he asked about settlers, the Israelis replied they were citizens.
"For them, Palestine does not exist. They repeated it many times: that Palestine does not exist. Today we do not sing victory, but we sing a collective process," he affirmed. Abukeshek and his organisation want to ensure that "what is happening in Palestine every day is talked about and explained." They also demand that "in our countries, complicity" with events in Gaza must end, and that "ships carrying weapons to the Israeli government stop passing through the ports of our countries." He concluded his statement by proclaiming, "Another life is possible with struggle and resilience. Long live Free Palestine!"
