Israeli far-right minister sparks outcry
Israel’s far-right national security minister posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking international condemnation.
The video, shared on X by firebrand Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels at sea and began detaining hundreds of foreign activists at the southern port of Ashdod.
The video drew swift international uproar and Ben Gvir was criticized by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Captioned “Welcome to Israel,” the footage shows dozens of activists forced to kneel with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground. At some points, the Israeli national anthem can be heard playing in the background.
The footage also shows Ben Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists.
Blockade of Gaza
Ben Gvir drew the ire of Netanyahu, who said the minister’s conduct with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms,” adding that authorities would deport the activists “as soon as possible.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced what he said were the national security minister’s “despicable actions.”
European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib also criticized Ben Gvir, saying on X that “no one should be punished for defending humanity,” while Belgium and France summoned the Israeli ambassadors in their capitals over what Paris called his “unacceptable actions.”
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
Israeli authorities had said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while the Adalah rights group said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.
Israel’s foreign minister Saar said Ben Gvir had “knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display—and not for the first time.”
Ben Gvir hit back, saying: “I am proud to be the minister in charge of the organizations that operated today against those supporters of terror.”
‘Criminal policy’
Nonprofit legal group Adalah also criticized Israeli authorities over the video.
“Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people,” the group, whose lawyers went to the detention center to meet the detainees, said in a statement.
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Poland, and Turkiye also condemned the incident, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney calling the treatment of civilians onboard the flotilla “abominable” and saying the Israeli ambassador would be summoned.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video and demanded the immediate release of the activists, who include the sister of President Catherine Connolly.
