Israel's chargé d'affaires is summoned, announces Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.
A total of 65 Spaniards were on board the Gaza convoy Global Sumud Flotilla's boats, Albares reports to the public service company TVE. Since Israel called home its ambassador in Madrid last year, after Spain's decision to recognize Palestine, the diplomat Dana Erlich is Israel's highest representative in the country.
On board the ships were also several EU parliamentarians. The European Parliament's Green Party group demands that Israel immediately release the Italian member Benedetta Scuderi, who is among those arrested outside the Gaza Strip.
Turkey: Terror act
The parliament's left group is worried about how two of their members in the convoy are doing: French Rima Hassan and French-Swedish Emma Fourreau.
"The EU and its member states must ensure that all those who have been kidnapped are released and not harmed", writes Irish Lynn Boylan, chairman of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Palestine, in a statement.
Turkey is also reacting sharply. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara calls Israel's "attack" on the convoy a "terror act" that puts innocent people in danger of their lives.
Criminal investigation
Prosecutors in Istanbul have launched an investigation into the 24 Turkish citizens who are now in Israeli custody, reports the Anatolia news agency. The possible charges are "deprivation of liberty, hijacking or detention of a vehicle, serious looting, material damage and torture", according to a statement referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Brazil, with 15 citizens on board the convoy's ships, condemns Israel's actions. The Israeli government's decision to board the ships and arrest the activists on board violates the rights of peaceful demonstrators, states the Brazilian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
About 15 Swedes were part of the convoy, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs reported last week. On Wednesday evening, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told TT that the Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv is in contact with Israeli authorities.
