More than 15 nations, including Italy, France and Canada, have summoned Israeli ambassadors over the “unacceptable” treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla participants, 87 of whom have reportedly gone on a hunger strike, Brett Wilkins reports.
Itamar Ben Gvir in November 2021. (Alexander Khanin /Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 4.0)
By Brett Wilkins
Common Dreams
A growing number of countries — and even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — have condemned far-right Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir’s humiliation of people violently abducted in international waters from the latest Global Sumud Flotilla as it attempted to break the illegal blockade of Gaza.
Ben-Gvir posted a video on social media on Wednesday showing him joyfully waving an Israeli flag as he walked among detained activists, journalists and others who were mostly kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and their foreheads forced to the ground.
“They came with a lot of pride, as great heroes; look at what they look like now,” Ben-Gvir says with glee. “No heroes, nothing. Terrorism supporters. I tell Netanyahu, give them to me for a long, long time.”
The video shows one female detainee shouting, “Free, free Palestine!” as Ben-Gvir walks by. She is grabbed roughly by the head and forced into a squatting position.
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Senior officials in countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey decried the treatment of their citizens and others seized from the flotilla off the coast of Cyprus.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — whose strong support for Israel has tempered amid the Gaza genocide and slaughter in Lebanon— called the video “unacceptable.”
“It is inadmissible that these demonstrators, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates human dignity,” she said. “The Italian government is immediately taking, at the highest institutional levels, all necessary steps to secure the immediate release of the Italian citizens involved.”
“Italy further demands an apology for the treatment reserved for these demonstrators and for the total contempt shown toward the explicit requests of the Italian government,” the right-wing leader added. “For these reasons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will immediately summon the Israeli ambassador to request formal clarifications on what has occurred.”
Portugal’s Foreign Ministry called Ben-Gvir’s behavior “intolerable” and “a humiliating violation of human dignity.”
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung accused Israeli forces of illegally abducting his country’s citizens from the flotilla, a move he called “way out of line.”
Speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his Cabinet in Seoul, Lee noted the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The ICC is also believed to be seeking the arrest of Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in connection with the ethnic cleansing and settler colonization of the illegally occupied West Bank.
“Almost all European countries have issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and announced plans to arrest him if he enters their territories. We should also consider this,” Lee said. “There are minimum international norms, and Israel is violating them all. They must adhere to principles; we have tolerated this for too long.”
“What is the legal basis for Israel seizing or sinking ships, including those carrying our citizens, who are volunteering for Gaza? Isn’t Israel’s invasion and occupation of Gaza illegal under international law?” Lee asked.
When National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac countered that “the conflict began with Hamas attacking Israel” on Oct. 7, 2023, Lee retorted by asking whether Gaza is Israeli territory.
When Wi conceded that it is not, Lee added: “Shouldn’t we protest? Even during combat, can third-country ships be seized? This is a matter of basic common sense, not just law, right?”
“There are minimum international norms, and Israel is violating them all.”
Israel maintains that the San Remo Manual allows for the interception and seizure of flotilla vessels attempting to reach Gaza on the high seas.
However, numerous international and maritime law experts note that San Remo isn’t a legally binding treaty. Critically, the document also prohibits blockades that cause “excessive” civilian harm and that result in the inadequate provision of “food and other objects essential” for survival.
Israel’s “complete siege” of Gaza has fueled famine and diseaseand is the basis for the ICC arrest warrant for Gallant.
Meanwhile, United Nations treaties and resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the ICC Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention — on which the genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa and backed by nearly 20 countries is based — prohibit or limit Israel’s blockage of humanitarian aid.
Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar — who is also a member of the prime minister’s Likud party — surprised many international observers by condemning Ben-Gvir’s behavior.
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“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “However, the way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
Israeli forces have been accused of physically and psychologically torturing past flotilla abductees, without protest from Netanyahu. In 2010, Israeli troops killed nine activists aboard one of the first-ever Gaza flotillas, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Dogan.
In a statement that followed Netanyahu’s remarks, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, “The actions of Mr. Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud Flotilla, denounced by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable.”
“I have requested that the Israeli ambassador to France be summoned to express our indignation and obtain explanations,” he added. “The safety of our compatriots is a constant priority. Whatever one thinks of this flotilla — and we have indicated on several occasions our disapproval of this initiative — our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible.”
Some critics also noted that Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism and supporting the Jewish terror group Kach after he advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Others warned against pointing the finger at individual Israeli leaders.
“There is an attempt to portray Ben-Gvir and his treatment of the activists as the entire issue, as if it were an individual act,” Palestinian journalist Reda Yasen said on X in a post with video showing Israeli forces opening fire on one of the flotilla vessels.
“It must be emphasized that this matter is connected to full-scale state terrorism practiced by an occupying power and its army,” he added. “It begins with genocide, the blockade, maritime piracy, the hijacking of ships, firing at participants, the use of skunk water cannons, deliberate ramming, beatings and other violations.”
Some observers highlighted incendiary remarks about flotilla members made by other Israeli officials, including Likud Transport Minister Miri Regev, who posted a video of her reveling in the detainees’ treatment.
Knesset Member Keti Shitrit, also Likud, said during an interview on far-right Channel 14 that the activists “must be dealt with” like terrorists — who are typically killed by Israeli forces, often along with their families.
Responding to Ben-Gvir’s video, the Israel-based Palestinian legal aid group Adalah said that “Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.”
“The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials,” the group added.
Palestinians marched in Gaza on Wednesday in support of the detained activists, at least 87 of whom have reportedly begun a hunger strike “in protest of their illegal abduction and in solidarity with the over 9,500 Palestinian hostages held in Israeli dungeons,” according to flotilla organizers.
Brett Wilkins is a staff writer at Common Dreams.
This article is from Common Dreams.
Views expressed in this article and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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What can one say about these events that hasn’t already been spoken in grief, outrage, or disbelief?
At a certain point, the repetition itself becomes the message — a sign of how numb the world has grown to violations that should never be normalized. The deeper question is no longer about the incident alone, but about the global failure of conscience that allows such patterns to persist. Until humanity finds the courage to uphold the most basic principles of dignity and accountability, these wounds will continue to reopen, reminding us of the work we have yet to do together.
Canadian here. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Ananda will only give the Israeli Ambassador to Canada little slap on the hand and then they’ll go for lunch. Canada is completely in the back pocket of the Zionist Israeli lobby.
Recently an open letter was penned to PM Goldman Sachs (a.k.a. Mark Carney) and signed by 190 retired and former Canadian diplomats calling for comprehensive sanctions on Israel.
hxxps://canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/letter-to-the-prime-minister-from-190-former-diplomats-003.pdf
I doubt he’ll give it even scant notice.
What is even more ‘Intolerable’ is the murderous and genocidal path Israel has undertaken upon the Palestine people, Jordanians in the West Bank and Lebanese since its creation in the aftermath of WWII, and it’s continuing territorial expansion.
It’s rather ironic and hypocritical, that these 15 countries including France, Italy and Canada have remained mostly silent as ten’s of thousands have died and been vapourised by Israeli bombs, and tens of thousands more been left with life altering injuries also from Israeli bombs and snipers.
Not only have these countries remained silent as the genocide continued, they continue to supply Israel with munitions to continue with the genocide.
I don’t see much of a difference between Israel and Nazi Germany. Both are/were genocidal states engaged in ethnic cleansing and territorial expansion.
“However, the way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms.” says Mr. SatanYahoo himself!
What ‘norms’ and ‘values’ can he be referring to? All the world can see is death and destruction, barbarity, depravity and the humiliation of non-Israelis and non-Jews everywhere.
Abuse in all its forms seems to be the Israeli ‘norm’.
Its ‘values’ are obvious and well articulated. All Goyem are fair game, unworthy of respect, fair treatment or anything else, sub-human – animals, inconvenient creatures to be removed or destroyed by any means possible.
No other country on this planet has sunk so low in terms of its treatment of people it considers lesser. Even the old European colonialists treated the ‘natives’ of their colonies far better than this most of the time, even though they too committed genocide.
By definition, that makes Israel a ‘lesser’ country, with ‘lesser’ people running it.
So should the rest of the world sink to its ultra-low level of decency and humanity, and apply the same ‘values’ and ‘norms’ to our treatment of it?
Starving people in Gaza marching in support of a hunger strike by people whose only crime was to attempt to bring humanitarian aid to starving people.
Israel breaking the Ten Commandments, yet again. When Ben Gvir waves that White/Blue flag, he acts like he’s waving his holy idol, and he appears to put his State of Israel above even God, and certainly above God’s Ten Commandments. Christians should be very careful about follow Genghis Kahn and mistakenly thinking he’s a guide.
What’s that expression on Gvir’s face? Is the owner of such a face capable of registering the depth of his absence?
What is Ireland? Chopped liver? Why no mention?
The sister of Ireland’s president is one of the captives.
Ireland has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Well deserving of a mention.
This is just abominable, murderous, illegal and crimes against humanity. Why is it taking the World so long to respond?????? And why do taxpayers have no say in where our tax money is going? What in God’s name is wrong with our government? Both parties!!!
I’m so tired of lame platitudes by Western governments that accomplish nothing as they are designed to do. Let’s see some concrete consequences for Israel for their decades of lawlessness. Until that happens, the atrocities will continue. Don’t let these performative statements fool you. White supremacist colonialism is the system they are scrambling to keep in place. When the system dies, so will the Israel project along with it.
Not impressed in the slightest with these countries who are making teensy-weensy expressions of disapproval about the Israeli treatment of the flotilla activists after having done NOTHING to stop the genocide. Apparently a few of their citizens being manhandled bother them more than Palestinians, including huge numbers of children being slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Disgustingly hypocritical.
Yes indeed it’s disgusting. The mass slaughter of Palestinians and turning Gaza into a moonscape is ok but the humiliation of white Westerners is not.
isn’t all this what you get when – for decades on end –
you let extremist israelis get away w violating each and
every set of rules the int’l community ever gave itself,
hoping to avoid the horrors of WWII?
What will it take for the American gvt. to stop funding these Israeli assholes? It makes one’s blood boil to see this kind of barbarism funded by American taxpayers, who seemingly have no say in the matter. Netanyahou says he wants to be independent of American support. Well, it can’t happen fast enough. This cancerous entity has caused endless turmoil in the Middle East, with no end in sight. If Israel can’t be a country where Palestinians have EQUAL rights, then the world would be better off without these murderous thugs.
Cut off ALL aid to the Israeli savages. We should be ashamed for supporting them for so many decades.