Witnesses relayed that the soldiers manning the block detained  19-year-old Ghaith Khair and severely beat him up allegeing  he did not follow orders.

 Media sources said that the Israeli police raised the level of alert along the Akka beaches, occupied in 1948, after a rumoured warning of the presence of possible explosive devices in the area.

The police ordered hotel owners along the beach and fishermen in the same area to be extremely cautious.

The Israeli authorities had closed the southern beaches last week after finding two explosive devices attached to a floating barrel that were drifting toward the Ashdod and Ashkelon beaches.