FILE – Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir gestures after election exit poll results are released at his party’s headquarters in Jerusalem on Nov. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv, File)
France announced that it has banned Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country after he released videos appearing to mock and intimidate pro-Palestinian activists detained from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The video shared by the Israeli minister has also drawn widespread international condemnation and renewed calls for European sanctions against the far-right minister.French foreign minister announced the move in a post on X, accusing Ben-Gvir of “unspeakable” behaviour towards French and European nationals who were among hundreds of activists intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters earlier this week.“As of today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions toward French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla,” Barrot wrote.“We cannot tolerate that French nationals can be threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way — all the more so by a public official,” he added, while also urging the European Union to impose bloc-wide sanctions on the Israeli minister.The ban comes after a video shared by Ben-Gvir on Wednesday sparked outrage across Europe and among rights groups. In a post on X, he shared a video of detained flotilla activists with the caption, “This is how we accept the supporters of terrorism. Welcome to Israel.”In one clip, the minister is seen waving a large Israeli flag over hunched detainees whose hands appeared to be bound. Another clip from the video showed him shouting “Am Yisrael Chai” — Hebrew for “The nation of Israel lives” — at a kneeling activist with zip-tied wrists.The footage also showed detainees kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground inside an outdoor holding area while the Israeli national anthem played and armed guards surrounded them. The footage was captioned “Welcome to Israel”.Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters after the convoy attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The activists, who had departed from Turkey aboard around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla initiative, said they were delivering humanitarian aid and protesting the blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.According to French authorities, 36 French nationals were among the detained activists. Israel later said the detainees would be deported.Barrot criticised the flotilla mission itself, saying France did not support the activists’ approach.“We disapprove of this flotilla’s approach, which produces no useful effect and places an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services,” he wrote.Despite that criticism, France maintained that the treatment of the detainees crossed a line. Barrot said he was coordinating with Italy in pushing for European Union sanctions against Ben-Gvir.Spain has also urged the EU to sanction the Israeli minister, while the United Kingdom summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in London over what it described as the “inflammatory video”.Netanyahu distanced himself from the videos but stopped short of taking action against his coalition ally. The Israeli prime minister said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”, though he retained him in his cabinet, news agency AP reported.At the same time, Netanyahu defended Israel’s interception of the flotilla, previously describing the aid mission as a “malicious scheme” intended to support Hamas.Israel has maintained tight control over all entry points into Gaza for nearly two decades. The blockade has faced growing international scrutiny during the ongoing Gaza war, as the territory experiences severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly during periods when Israel halted aid deliveries entirely.The latest flotilla operation followed a similar attempt last month that was intercepted by Israeli authorities in international waters off Greece, with most activists later expelled to Europe.
