Itamar Ben Gvir drew widespread criticism after taunting Gaza flotilla detainees
PUBLISHED : 23 May 2026 at 21:45
PARIS – France announced on Saturday it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for 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 in Israeli custody of foreign activists from the flotilla.
They were detained by Israel after its soldiers seized them in international waters.
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”, showed Ben Gvir heckling the activists while waving an Israeli flag.
After the outcry, Israel said it was deporting the activists.
‘Intimidated, brutalised’
Thirty-six French nationals were on board the flotilla, the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
While Barrot said France disapproved of the flotilla’s actions, arguing they served “no useful purpose”, he added that “we cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalised in this way, especially by a public official.”
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”, but he kept the security minister in his post.
Netanyahu had earlier denounced the humanitarian aid mission as a “malicious scheme” intended to support Hamas.
The activists had departed from Turkey last week on around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
During the Gaza war, the territory suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Israel at times halting aid deliveries entirely.
A previous flotilla attempt was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe.