France has banned Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entering the country after a video was released showing him overseeing the abuse of detained Gaza-bound flotilla activists.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the decision followed Ben Gvir’s “unacceptable conduct towards French and European citizens” during last week’s flotilla raid.
While Paris did not support the activists’ mission, Barrot said the treatment they received was unacceptable.
“We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or subjected to violence in this way, especially by a public official,” he wrote on X on Saturday.
Barrot added that Ben Gvir’s actions followed “a long series of shocking statements and actions, as well as incitement to hatred and violence against Palestinians”.
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He also backed calls by Italy for the European Union to impose sanctions on the Israeli minister.
Last week, Ben Gvir released a video showing himself overseeing the mistreatment of hundreds of handcuffed activists seized by Israeli naval forces in international waters as they attempted to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
In the footage, the national security minister is seen waving an Israeli flag and taunting activists while Israeli officers force detainees to kneel facing the ground.
The footage sparked international outrage, with several European governments summoning Israeli envoys in protest.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the scenes as “totally disgraceful”, while Turkey accused Israel of displaying a “violent and barbaric mindset”.
Activists abused
More than 430 activists were detained during the raid, then deported on Thursday, except for one Israeli citizen.
Several activists later alleged they were subjected to sexual abuse and torture while in Israeli custody.
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who is among the deportees, told reporters at Rome’s Fiumicino airport that he and others were “taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens”.
Deported flotilla activists allege ‘sadistic’ sexual abuse and torture in Israeli captivity
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He said that Israeli soldiers “beat us up”.
“They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he added.
Miriam Azem, from the Israeli rights group Adalah, reported that one of the activists “was forced to strip naked and run while guards were laughing”.
One activist said in a video interview that her hands and feet were bound as she was dragged by Israeli soldiers, adding that the cuffs were so tight that “my hands lost feeling”.
“They laughed all the time. Super sadistic,” she told reporters. “They took off my shirt, took pictures. Mistreated us all night long.”
Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly and one of those detained, told RTE Radio that the activists “got a feeling of what the Jews felt like during the Second World War”, adding that Israel was “now acting like a Nazi state”.
