Gaza – Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands have summoned Israeli envoys to protest after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir shared a video taunting detained Gaza flotilla activists.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand says: “What we’ve seen, including the video shared by Itamar Ben Gvir, is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable,” she tells reporters on a conference call. “This is a matter we take very, very seriously. It’s a matter of humane treatment of civilians, and I can assure you that we are acting with absolute urgency.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen says that “the images shared by extremist Minister Ben Gvir of detained flotilla activists are shocking and unacceptable.”
“This treatment of detainees violates basic human dignity. I raised this directly with my Israeli colleague Gideon Sa’ar and will summon the Israeli ambassador,” he writes in a post on X.
The activists were aboard a flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters yesterday and later taken to an Israeli port.
Germany, the UK and Greece all join in condemning far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s treatment of detained activists on an intercepted Gaza-bound flotilla, after he published a video flaunting their detention.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel calls the treatment “wholly unacceptable.”
“It is good to hear many Israeli voices — including the foreign minister — call out in all clarity Minister Ben Gvir’s treatment of the detainees for what it is: wholly unacceptable and incompatible with the basic values of our countries,” Steffen Seibert writes on X.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both sharply criticized Ben Gvir over the video.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper says she is “truly appalled” by the video.
In a statement on X, Cooper says Britain is in contact with the families of several British nationals involved and is providing consular support.
“We have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities and made clear their obligations to protect the rights of our citizens and all those involved,” Cooper says.
Greece’s foreign ministry says in a statement that “the conduct of the Israeli Minister of National Security, which targeted citizens participating in the ‘Global Sumud Flotilla,’ is unacceptable and absolutely condemnable.”
The statement calls on Israel to “immediately release” detained Greek citizens and says a formal protest has been lodged at the instruction of Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
