The video that the Netanyahu government's head of national security released this morning on social media has sparked international outrage: "This is how we welcome supporters of terrorism," Ben Gvir states as, with an Israeli flag in hand and a derisive grin, he walks through a hangar in the port of Ashdod. There, more than 400 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, including about thirty Italians (and two Sardinians whose whereabouts are still unknown, Gianfranco Frongia and Ilaria Mancosu), were rounded up, blindfolded, and forced to kneel, hands tied, and face down. They had been arrested the previous evening in international waters off the coast of Cyprus and the Gaza Strip, where they were headed in an attempt—as on previous missions—to break the Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid.
In the evening, lawyers from the NGO Adalah, who are providing legal assistance to the activists, reported that many of those detained reported "extreme violence, sexual humiliation, and serious injuries at the hands of Israeli authorities" during and after the interception of the boats at sea, with the use of "tasers and rubber bullets." At least three people were hospitalized and later released. "Uncivilized treatment" that "reaches the lowest level for an Israeli government minister," were the harsh words of President Sergio Mattarella in response to the video of Ben Gvir. Giorgia Meloni and Antonio Tajani decided to immediately take a stand and summon the Israeli ambassador to Rome, Jonathan Peled, to "demand an apology" from the Jewish state and demand the immediate release of the Italians. France, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain have also taken the same step, summoning Israel's ambassadors to their respective countries and almost unanimously calling the images and humiliation meted out to the activists "unacceptable." Pedro Sanchez has announced he will call for European sanctions against Ben Gvir.
The United Kingdom said it was "horrified" and demanded explanations. The EU, through its Emergency Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, also sided with those arrested: "They are not criminals. They are activists trying to bring bread to the hungry. No one should be punished for defending humanity," she wrote on X, calling for respect for international humanitarian law. Even the ambassador of its staunch ally, Mike Huckabee, while calling the Flotilla "a stupid prank," condemned Ben Gvir's "despicable acts," accusing him of having "betrayed the dignity of his nation." The protests appear to be increasingly isolating Benjamin Netanyahu, who has so far survived international outrage over the massacres of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza following the October 7 massacre by Hamas, and previous forceful reactions to the Flotilla's various missions, including sea boardings, arrests, and expulsions.
So much so that he distanced himself from one of the ministers who props up his government: "Israel has every right to prevent flotillas of Hamas supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza. However, Minister Ben Gvir's treatment of the activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms," the prime minister declared in a statement, noting that he had "given instructions to expel the provocateurs as soon as possible" in response to the same minister who, in the video, had asked him to hand them over "for a long time" to "put them in terrorist prisons."
Even more irritated shortly beforehand was Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar: "You are not the face of Israel," he rebuked him in a post on X, in which he called Ben Gvir's triumphant parade in Ashdod, accompanied by the national anthem, a "shameful performance" with which the minister had "knowingly caused harm to the country." "You have undermined the enormous, professional, and successful efforts of so many people, from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry employees and many others," added Sa'ar, who works tirelessly to improve the Jewish state's reputation in the eyes of the world. But the leader of Jewish Power, already campaigning, shows no signs of backing down. "Israel has stopped being a slapped child," he replied, again on social media, to Sa'ar. "We will not turn the other cheek."
(Unioneonline)