Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from France for his treatment of pro-Palestinian activists detained as they tried to reach Gaza, the French government announced on Saturday.
Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory, effective immediately, after "his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens" who were part of the flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X.
While saying he didn't support the flotilla's actions, Barrot declared: "We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalised in this way, especially by a public official."
He added that, alongside the Italian government, he was also calling for European Union sanctions against Ben-Gvir.
The ultra-nationalist minister drew condemnation from France and other countries, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for sharing a video of himself taunting activists as they knelt in handcuffs while detained by Israeli authorities.
Alleged abuse
Several of the activists on board the Global Sumud Flotilla have alleged they were subjected to violence, sexual abuse and other degrading treatment after being intercepted by Israeli naval forces last week.
The video shared by Ben-Gvir on Wednesday, captioned "Welcome to Israel", showed him waving an Israeli flag next to bound activists held at a detention facility at the Israeli port of Ashdod, as well as heckling detainees and urging on wardens as they push a woman down.
Amid outcry, countries including France, Italy, the UK and Canada summoned Israel's ambassadors to complain. Netanyahu said Ben-Gvir's treatment of the activists was "not in line with Israel's values and norms".
Israel has since deported all foreign activists, it said on Thursday. Eight of the 36 French nationals taking part returned to Paris on Friday, telling reporters that two of their fellow activists remained in hospital in Turkey.
Activists described being hit, stripped, groped, forced into stress positions and kept in handcuffs for hours at a time.
"At one point, they made us go into a black container where we couldn’t see a thing," Sabrina Azizi told RFI at the Paris airport. "That's where each of us was subjected to a different form of torture. I was given an injection, but some of my comrades were beaten, so badly that some were injured...
"We spent two days hearing screams, shouts and the sound of soldiers banging them against the containers."
'Repeated incitements of violence'
Asked by news agency AFP to respond to the claims of physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, assault and rape, the Israeli prison service said the accusations were "false and entirely without factual basis".
More than 50 boats set sail from Turkey last week with over 400 people aboard, from 40 different countries. They said they were attempting to take basic aid to Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2007.
Ben-Gvir, who oversees Israel's police and security services, was sanctioned last year by the UK, Australia, Norway, Canada and New Zealand for "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities".
Another far-right minister, Bezalel Smotrich, was also subject to the sanctions, which saw the issuing countries bar them from entry and freeze their assets there.
They were the first such sanctions imposed on Israeli ministers by Western governments.
(with newswires and RFI reporting in French)
