By Rami Ayyub
JERUSALEM, May 21 (Reuters) – Western governments voiced outrage on Thursday after Israel’s far-right security minister posted a video of himself taunting Gaza-bound flotilla activists being pinned to the ground, with two later alleging they were physically assaulted in detention.
The activists’ treatment by police officers under the direction of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also drew a rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally.
The activists, whose vessel was intercepted on Wednesday in international waters by Israeli naval forces as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were expected to be deported from Israel on Thursday.
Across Europe, governments summoned Israeli ambassadors to condemn the video. Italy demanded an apology, Spain said it would not tolerate maltreatment of its citizens, and France demanded the release of all the detainees.
Britain’s foreign ministry said the video “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people”, while Poland’s foreign minister called for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country.
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Ben-Gvir had “betrayed (the) dignity of his nation”.
The outpouring of anger follows the posting of campaign-style videos by Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu’s government, transport chief Miri Regev, showing them visiting the port and lambasting the protesters, attention-grabbing antics ahead of a potential early election in Israel.
TWO ITALIAN ACTIVISTS ALLEGE PHYSICAL ASSAULT
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, one of several activists separated from the others and flown home earlier, said he had been beaten up on arrival in Israeli detention in what he described as a container, calling it as a “place of terror”.
“‘Beat you up’ means they kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face. These are people who know what they are doing, so I don’t have any major visible marks … They would beat you up and would tell you ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he told reporters on arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Another Italian activist, Dario Carotenuto, a lawmaker from the 5-Star Movement, said he had been punched in the eye and kicked while detained.
Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations by activists that they were abused after the flotilla was intercepted. Activists who were part of previous flotillas intercepted by Israel also said they faced abuse by Israeli forces, something Israel rejected.
Flotilla organisers say they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid, which charities say is still in short supply despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased assistance.
The flotilla departed from southern Turkey this week before being intercepted on Wednesday. Past flotillas – including one carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg – were also intercepted by Israel, with participants later deported.
Israeli rights group Adalah said the estimated 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel and would be deported via the Ramon airport near Eilat on the Red Sea.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country was conducting special flights that would bring Turkish citizens as well as third country participants to Turkey. Those on board the flotilla included citizens of Spain, South Korea and Ireland.
“We will continue to uphold the rights of our citizens and fulfil our humanitarian responsibility toward civilians in Gaza,” Fidan said.
Spain’s foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart from Israel at 1200 GMT.
TAUNTING OF ACTIVISTS COMES AHEAD OF ISRAELI ELECTION
Ben-Gvir’s video showed officers forcing an activist to the ground after she chants “Free, free Palestine”.
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, in what appears to be an outdoor Israeli port facility. In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area from aboard a military vessel.
During Israel’s military assault in Gaza, launched after the October 2023 Hamas attacks, Israeli troops frequently lined up detained Palestinians on the ground, with their hands bound.
“Look at them now. See how they look now, not heroes and not anything,” Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks by the activists while carrying a large Israeli flag.
Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
Ben-Gvir’s political base includes some of Israel’s most nationalist voters, a bloc that Netanyahu’s Likud party has in the past tried to woo ahead of national elections, the next of which is due by October 27.
This week, Israel moved closer to a snap election after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament.
Canada and Spain are among countries that have imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing allegations that they incited violence against Palestinians.
(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Matteo Negri in Rome, Writing by William Maclean, Editing by Gareth Jones)
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