PARIS: France announced on Saturday (May 23) it had banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for a video mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
“From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory” after “his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens” who were part of the humanitarian flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
He added that, with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Israeli minister.
The ban follows a global outcry after Ben Gvir published a video on Wednesday showing the heavy-handed treatment of foreign activists from the flotilla.
They were detained by Israel in international waters and were awaiting deportation at the southern port of Ashdod.
In the video, dozens of activists are seen forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied.
The clip, which was captioned “Welcome to Israel”, also showed Ben Gvir heckling the activists while waving an Israeli flag.
Spain has also urged the EU to sanction Ben Gvir while the United Kingdom summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in Britain following “the inflammatory video”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Ben Gvir’s treatment of the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
Netanyahu had earlier denounced the humanitarian aid mission as a “malicious scheme” intended to support Hamas.
The activists had departed from Türkiye last week on around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla.
It was the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.