France Bans Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir Over Video Mocking Gaza Flotilla Detainees
मुख्य बातें
- •France has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country after he shared a video mocking detained activists from the *Global Sumud Flotilla*.
- •The video showed Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag over bound detainees and shouting nationalist slogans; it was captioned “Welcome to Israel.”
- •French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné called the conduct “unspeakable” and urged the EU to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir.
- •Netanyahu distanced himself from the video but retained Ben-Gvir in the cabinet, calling the conduct inconsistent with Israeli values.
France has imposed an entry ban on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following the release of a video in which he appeared to mock and intimidate pro-Palestinian activists detained by Israeli forces during the interception of the *Global Sumud Flotilla* in international waters. The decision, announced by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on X (formerly Twitter), marks a sharp diplomatic response to what France described as “unspeakable” conduct by a serving Israeli government minister.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Séjourné stated that Ben-Gvir is now barred from entering French territory. He condemned the minister’s actions toward French and European nationals who were among hundreds of activists aboard the flotilla intercepted earlier this week. “We cannot tolerate that French nationals can be threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way — all the more so by a public official,” Séjourné wrote. He also urged the European Union to impose bloc-wide sanctions against Ben-Gvir, signaling growing European impatience with far-right Israeli policies.
