In a sign of increasing tensions between Israel and Spain, Israel’s top envoy, Dana Erlich, was summoned to protest the “unacceptable and intolerable” detention of Palestinian-Spanish national and Gaza flotilla activist Saif Abu Keshek, according to Spain’s Foreign Ministry.

The Gaza Sumud Flotilla, with 170 activists aboard, set sail from Italy, France and Spain in its second attempt in a year to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and provide humanitarian aid. However, little to no humanitarian aid was found on the boats, and critics called the endeavor a publicity stunt.

Israel intercepted the flotilla last week and released nearly all the activists in Greece, detaining two: Keshek and Thiago Avila from Brazil, who insisted he had simply taken an innocent excursion, a fishing trip to Greece. He failed to explain how a fishing trip landed him on a Gaza flotilla boat.

Israel accused the two men of ties to Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, a group that the United States said acts on behalf of terrorist organizations. It said Keshek is a leading member of the group, and Avila is “suspected of illegal activity.”

“We again summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires [acting ambassador] to convey to her how unacceptable and intolerable it is to extend the detention of our citizen,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares declared Wednesday in parliament.

Israel extended the detention of the two activists until Sunday in defiance of international demands for their release and condemnations of the arrests as illegal. The pair of activists have gone on a hunger strike, with Avila allegedly also recently refusing water. They have alleged abuses, which Israel has denied.

The relationship between Israel and Spain has been spiraling downward since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Spain has characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide and joined South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

Spain recognized Palestine as a state in 2024, and Israel retaliated by recalling its ambassador to Spain. Spain in turn recalled its ambassador to Israel in March.

Worse yet, Spain awarded the Order of Civil Merit to Francesca Albanese Thursday. Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the territories, is so antisemitic — identifying Israel as the common enemy of humanity in a speech in Doha, Qatar, in February — that even France demanded her resignation, a condemnation that Germany shared.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented the award to a person a majority of Jews consider an odious antisemite “for her extensive work documenting and denouncing the violations of international law in Gaza.”