France bans Israeli minister Bengweil for mocking detained Gaza flotilla activist

France has announced a ban on entry to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gver after he posted videos that appeared to mock and intimidate pro-Palestinian activists who were detained on an aid flotilla heading from Gaza. The video shared by the Israeli minister also drew widespread international condemnation and renewed calls for Europe to impose sanctions on the far-right minister.France’s foreign minister announced the move in a post on Barrow wrote: “As of today, Itamar Ben Guvir is banned from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions against French and European citizens who were passengers of the global Sumud fleet.”“We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way, especially public officials,” he added, urging the EU to impose EU-wide sanctions on Israeli ministers.The ban comes after a video Ben-Gewell shared on Wednesday sparked outrage across Europe and human rights groups. In a post on X, he shared a video of a detained flotilla activist with the caption: “This is how we accept supporters of terrorism. Welcome to Israel.”In one video, the minister can be seen waving a large Israeli flag over a hunched-over detainee whose hands appear to be restrained. Another clip in the video shows him shouting “Am Yisrael Chai” (Hebrew for “Survival of the Nation of Israel”) to a kneeling activist with zip ties on his wrists.The video also showed detainees kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground as the Israeli national anthem was played while armed guards surrounded them in an outdoor holding area. The video is titled “Welcome to Israel.”Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters after it attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The activists, who left Turkey on about 50 ships under the Global Sumud Fleet Initiative, said they were delivering humanitarian aid and protesting against the blockade on Gaza that has been in place since 2007.According to French authorities, 36 French citizens are among the detained activists. Israel later said the detainees would be deported.Barrow criticized the flotilla mission itself, saying France did not support the activists’ approach.“We disapprove of the flotilla’s approach, which has no useful effect and places an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services,” he wrote.Despite the criticism, France maintains that the treatment of detainees crossed a line. Barrot said he was coordinating with Italy to push for EU sanctions against Bengueville.Spain also urged the EU to sanction Israeli ministers, while Britain summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in London over what it called an “inflammatory video.”Netanyahu distanced himself from the videos but took no action against his coalition allies. According to the Associated Press, the Israeli prime minister said that Ben-Gvir’s behavior was “incompatible with Israeli values ​​and norms,” ​​but he still retained Ben-Gvir in the cabinet.Meanwhile, Netanyahu has defended Israel’s actions in intercepting the flotilla, after previously describing the aid mission as a “malicious plan” aimed at supporting Hamas.For nearly two decades, Israel has tightly controlled all entry points into Gaza. During the war in Gaza, the blockade faced increasing international scrutiny due to acute shortages of food, medicine and other necessities in the area. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of deteriorating humanitarian conditions, particularly during a period when Israel completely halted aid deliveries.The latest flotilla operation follows a similar attempt last month that was intercepted by Israeli authorities in international waters near Greece, with most activists later deported to Europe.