INFLAMMATORY VIDEO
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Türkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
The deportations come after footage posted by Ben Gvir, captioned “Welcome to Israel” and showing the minister heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists, sparked resounding condemnation by governments around the world, from Italy to Spain and Australia to Canada.
He was also criticised at home by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, as well as by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
In the latest diplomatic backlash, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked the European Union to sanction Ben Gvir “for the unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla”.
The United Kingdom announced it had summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in Britain following “the inflammatory video”.
Francesca Albanese, an outspoken UN expert on the Palestinian territories, called on Italy, where she is from, to take action.
The treatment of the flotilla activists “is a luxury compared to what is inflicted on Palestinians in Israeli prisons,” Albanese wrote on X.
“Words do not suffice: let Italy stop opposing the suspension” of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, she added.
