Netanyahu rebukes 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 treatment of pro-Palestinian flotilla activists. 

The clip, posted by Ben-Gvir, shows him mocking activists as they’re corralled in the custody of Israeli security personnel. 

The far-right government minister, who has been sanctioned by U.S. allies for inciting violence against Palestinians, is seen in one clip that he posted walking among some of the approximately 430 detained Sumud Global Flotilla activists with police and soldiers. The government minister can be seen waving a large Israeli flag and tells some of the activists, “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords.” 

One handcuffed activist seen in a video shouting “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walks past is immediately pushed to the ground by security personnel.

The video shows activists with their hands tied behind their back, kneeling with their heads touching the floor, in what appears to be a makeshift detention area at Israel’s Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.

In another video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” while appealing to Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them for a “long, long time.”

Netanyahu defended intercepting the flotilla, but spoke out about Ben-Gvir’s actions in the video on Wednesday.

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

After the video emerged, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rebuked Ben-Gvir on X, saying, “You deliberately caused damage to the state in this disgraceful performance, and not for the first time. … No you are not the face of Israel.”

Ben-Gvir responded on X that Saar should “understand that Israel has stopped being a pushover. Anyone who comes to our territory to support terrorism … will get slapped.”

Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., posted on X that Ben-Gvir’s “reckless grandstanding” does not represent Israeli government policy. 

“Ben Gvir’s antics take a sledgehammer to our diplomatic efforts while Israel’s enemies gleefully jump on every unfortunate nonsense to discredit and demonize,” he added. 

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said, “Flotilla was stupid stunt, but Ben Gvir betrayed dignity of his nation.”

Ambassadors summoned

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, in a post on X, called the video of Ben-Gvir “unacceptable,” and said Italy had summoned the Israeli ambassador in Rome.

Italy “demands an apology for the treatment reserved to these demonstrators,” she wrote.

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said Wednesday that France had also summoned the Israeli ambassador in their capital, reiterating that Ben-Gvir’s actions were “unacceptable.”

“Whatever one thinks of this flotilla,” he wrote on X, “our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible.”

An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, accused Israeli authorities of “employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists.”

Adalah said in a statement that this followed similar patterns of ill-treatment by Israeli authorities against activists in previous flotilla missions, “for which Israel faced zero accountability.” The group said its lawyers and other volunteers were providing legal advice to activists at Ashdod and were demanding their immediate release.

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

Israel denies firing live ammunition

Israeli forces on Tuesday boarded the last of the flotilla boats trying to challenge Israel’s decadeslong blockade of Gaza — the latest effort aimed at highlighting dire conditions for nearly 2 million Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.

Flotilla organizers claimed Israeli soldiers fired on five boats during the interdictions, causing some damage. Israel’s foreign ministry told CBS News on Tuesday that no live ammunition was fired and “nonlethal means” were aimed at the vessels as a warning, but without targeting or injuring protesters.

Israeli forces had begun stopping the flotilla around 167 miles from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website. The vessels departed last week from Turkey.

Israel has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas” with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza, as the boats carry only a small amount of aid.