Outrage grows after Israeli minister mocks Gaza flotilla activists
By Rami Ayyub
JERUSALEM, May 21 (Reuters) – Western governments expressed outrage on Thursday after Israel’s far-right security minister released a video mocking Gaza-bound flotilla activists as they were pinned to the ground; Two men later claimed they were physically assaulted during detention.
The treatment of the activists by police officers under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also drew rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s staunchest ally, the United States.
Activists whose ship was stopped in international waters by Israeli naval forces while trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza on Wednesday were deported from Israel on Thursday, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
Governments across Europe summoned Israeli ambassadors to condemn the video. Italy demanded an apology, Spain said it would not tolerate mistreatment of its citizens, and France demanded the release of all detainees.
CRITICISM FROM THE US AMBASSADOR
Britain’s foreign ministry said the video “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for human beings”, while Poland’s foreign minister called for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Ben-Gvir “betrayed the honor of his nation.”
The outpouring of anger came after Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu’s government, transportation chief Miri Regev, released campaign-style videos showing remarkable antics, showing them visiting the port and berating protesters ahead of a possible early election in Israel.
Israeli human rights group Adalah said an estimated 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel.
Adalah’s communications director, Miriam Azem, said the group’s lawyers documented repeated use of stun guns, suspected broken ribs, as well as beatings, prolonged use of stress positions, and sexual harassment and abuse.
“One of the activists was forced to strip naked and run while the guards laughed,” he said, adding that Israeli authorities fired rubber bullets at some activists while stopping the flotilla, which injured them.
The foreign ministry said non-lethal methods were used to warn fleet ships and no protesters were injured.
The Israel Prisons Service rejected Adalah’s allegations as completely false, factually unfounded, and designed to depict systematic illegal behavior.
“All prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, with full respect for their fundamental rights, and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff,” with medical care provided in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines. It was said.
TWO ITALIAN ACTIVISTS ALLEGED PHYSICAL ATTACK
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, one of the activists who had previously returned home by plane, said that when he arrived at the place where he was detained in Israel, he was beaten in a place he described as a container and described it as a “place of terrorism”.
“‘Beat you’ means they kicked my legs and punched me in the face. These are people who know what they’re doing, so I don’t have any obvious visible marks… They would beat you and say, ‘Welcome to Israel,'” he told reporters upon arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Another Italian activist, 5 Star Movement MP Dario Carotenuto, said he was punched in the eye and kicked while in custody.
Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the activists’ claims. Activists who were in previous flotillas stopped by Israel also said they were mistreated by Israeli forces, which Israel denied.
Thameen al-Kheetan, Spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that anyone found harassing activists should be held accountable.
“It is not a crime to show solidarity and bring humanitarian aid to people in urgent need in Gaza,” he told Reuters.
Flotilla organizers say they aim to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid; Aid organizations say that despite the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which includes increased aid guarantees since October 2025, it is still insufficient.
The fleet sailed from southern Türkiye this week before being stopped on Wednesday. Past flotillas, including one featuring Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were also stopped by Israel and participants were later deported.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan said that his country carried out special flights to bring third country participants as well as Turkish citizens to Türkiye. Among those in the fleet were citizens of Spain, South Korea and Ireland.
ISRAEL ELECTION COMES FIRST TO MOCKING OF ACTIVISTS
Ben-Gvir’s video shows an activist chanting “Free, free Palestine” being forced to the ground by police officers.
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows with their hands zipped behind their backs at Israel’s open-air port facility. In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area from a military ship.
During Israel’s military offensive on Gaza following the Hamas attacks in October 2023, Israeli soldiers frequently lined up detained Palestinians on the ground with their hands tied.
“Look at them now. Look at how they look now, they’re not heroes or anything,” Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks past activists carrying a large Israeli flag.
Netanyahu said Ben-Gvir’s behavior was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
Ben-Gvir’s political base includes some of Israel’s most nationalist voters, whom Netanyahu’s Likud party has tried to woo in the past ahead of the next national election on October 27.
(Additional reporting: John Irish in Paris, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Matteo Negri in Rome and Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva, Writing by William Maclean, Editing by Gareth Jones and Alison Williams)
