RAMALLAH, June 11, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli court affiliated with the detention division in Ramla has issued a ruling to keep eight international activists, who were aboard the "Madeline" ship of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, in custody.

This decision came after rejecting legal appeals submitted by the legal team from Adalah, composed of lawyers Lubna Touma, Hadeel Abu Saleh, and volunteer lawyer Afnan Khalifa. The center received the official court ruling on Wednesday morning.

The eight activists are: Suayb Ordu (Turkey), Mark van Rins (Netherlands), Pascal Moreras (France), Riva Fiard (France), Rima Hassan (France), Tiago Ovila (Brazil), Yanis Mohammadi (France), and Yasmin Ajar (Germany).

In a statement, Adalah emphasized that the law the court relied upon — "illegal entry into Israel" — does not apply to the activists’ case. None of them sought to enter Israel or its territorial waters. Their plan was to depart from Sicily and reach Gaza’s territorial waters, recognized as part of the State of Palestine, via international waters. However, the ship was intercepted by the Israeli navy, the activists were forcibly detained and taken to Israel against their will, violating their fundamental rights under international humanitarian law.

Despite the clear legal arguments presented by Adalah, the court dismissed all appeals and ruled that the naval blockade on Gaza is "lawful" under Israeli jurisdiction, and that the activists acted in violation of it.

According to Israeli law, those subject to deportation orders may be detained for 72 hours or longer prior to forced removal unless they consent to leave voluntarily. The court scheduled a detention review hearing for July 8, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., if deportation has not been executed by then.

By this ruling, the court effectively provided legal cover for potentially prolonged arbitrary detention exceeding one month, without judicial oversight, in breach of international law and the activists’ rights, Adalah stated.

Y.S