Netanyahu reprimands Israeli minister after video shows degrading treatment of Gaza flotilla activists

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a rare rebuke to his national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, after videos emerged online showing Ben-Gvir’s handling of a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists.

This clip, posted by Ben-Gvir, shows the activists laughing as they are being held in custody by Israeli security personnel.

A right-wing government minister, he has been approved by US partners for inciting violence against the Palestinian people, it appears in one clip he posted walking among some 430 Sumud Global Flotilla activists who have been arrested by the police and military. A government minister is seen waving a large Israeli flag and telling some of the activists, “Welcome to Israel, we own the houses.”

One handcuffed activist seen on video shouts “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walks past and is pushed to the ground by security forces.

The video shows activists with their hands tied behind their backs, kneeling with their heads touching the ground, in what appears to be a temporary detention center in the Israeli port of Ashdod and on the deck of a ship.

In another video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “arrived here full of pride like great heroes. Look at them now,” while urging Netanyahu to give him permission to detain them “for a long, long time.”

Netanyahu defended blocking the flotilla, but addressed Ben-Gvir’s actions in a video on Wednesday.

“Israel has every right to prevent the provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our waters and reaching Gaza,” he said in a statement. “However, the way Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not compatible with Israel’s values ​​and principles.”

After the video appeared, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reprimanded Ben-Gvir on X, saying, “He deliberately caused damage to the state in this disgraceful operation, not for the first time … No you do not see the face of Israel.”

Ben-Gvir responded with X and said Saar should “understand that Israel has ceased to be an opposition party. Anyone who comes to our territory to support terrorism … will be slapped.”

Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, wrote in X that Ben-Gvir’s “reckless bigotry” does not represent Israeli government policy.

“Ben Gvir’s antics take a hammer to our diplomatic efforts while Israel’s enemies gleefully jump on all the nonsense to vilify and demonize,” he added.

Ambassadors were called

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, in an X post, called Ben-Gvir’s video “unacceptable,” and said Italy had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome.

Italy “wants to apologize for the treatment of these protesters,” he wrote.

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said on Wednesday that France had summoned the Israeli ambassador to its capital, and reiterated that Ben-Gvir’s actions were “unacceptable.”

“Whatever one thinks of this flotilla,” he wrote to X, “our people who took part in it should be treated with respect and released as soon as possible.”

An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, accused Israeli authorities of “using a criminal policy to harass and humiliate activists.”

Adalah said in a statement that this followed similar patterns of mistreatment by Israeli authorities against activists in previous flotilla missions, “for which Israel did not take responsibility.” The organization said its lawyers and other volunteers were providing legal advice to the activists in Ashdod and wanted their immediate release.

“The international community must take urgent measures to protect the members of the flotilla from this brutal and illegal behavior by Israeli officials,” the group said.

Israel denies live shooting

Israeli soldiers on Tuesday boarded a flotilla for the last time in an attempt to challenge Israel’s decades-old blockade of Gaza – the latest effort aimed at highlighting the dire conditions for nearly two million Palestinians in the war-torn territory.

The organizers of the Flotilla said that the Israeli soldiers fired at five boats during the blockade, causing damage. Israel’s Foreign Ministry told CBS News on Tuesday that no bullets were fired and “non-lethal methods” were aimed at the ships as a warning, but without targeting or harming the protesters.

The Israeli military had begun to station the flotilla at a distance of 167 kilometers from the Gaza coast, according to the flotilla’s website. The ships left last week from Turkey.

Israel called the flotilla a “PR stunt in the service of Hamas” with no real intention of bringing aid to Gaza, as the boats only carry a small amount of aid.