France on Saturday banned Israelâs far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his "unspeakable" behavior targeting activists from a flotilla to Gaza who were detained by his police force.
âAs of today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions toward French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla," the French foreign minister, Jean-NoĂ«l Barrot, announced in a post on X.
âWe cannot tolerate that French nationals can be threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way â all the more so by a public official,â Barrot posted, calling on the European Union to also sanction Ben-Gvir.
The Associated Press has sought comment from Ben-Gvir's spokesperson and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This week, Ben-Gvir sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting detained flotilla activists.
In one clip, Ben-Gvir is seen waving a large Israeli flag over hunched-over detainees whose hands appear to be bound. In another, he taunts a kneeling detainee whose wrists are zip-tied, yelling âAm Yisrael Chaiâ at him â Hebrew for âThe nation of Israel lives.â In a third, detainees can be seen â foreheads to the floor of an outdoor pen â as the Israeli national anthem plays and armed guards encircle them.
Foreign leaders â and even coalition partner Netanyahu â condemned Ben-Gvir's on-camera treatment of some 430 flotilla detainees.
In his post, the French minister was also critical of flotilla activists, who were attempting to breach Israelâs naval blockade of Gaza.
âWe disapprove of this flotillaâs approach, which produces no useful effect and places an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services," Barrot wrote.
