Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.

There was a rapid and furious response from countries whose citizens were on board the boats, including the UK, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland, in many cases delivered in person from the top of government.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, one of the country’s staunchest allies, described Ben-Gvir’s behaviour as “despicable” and said the minister “betrayed the dignity of his nation”.

The video includes images of dozens of men and women kneeling in rows, with their foreheads to the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their back. Ben-Gvir appears waving an Israeli flag, mocking and taunting the detainees, including shouting “the people of Israel live” in the face of one bound man.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said the images were “unacceptable”, and demanded the release of all Italian citizens involved, along with an apology for the mistreatment and the display of “total contempt” toward the Italian government.

“It is inadmissible that these demonstrators, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates human dignity,” Meloni said in a long statement posted on social media.

The Spanish foreign minister called the treatment “monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane”. His British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, said she was “truly appalled” by the video, which “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity in the way people should be treated”, and added that she was in touch with the families of British citizens held by Israel.

More than 400 activists from 40 countries, travelling on 50 vessels, took part in the flotilla, organisers said. It set off from Turkey carrying food and other aid, in the latest high-profile attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Seven months after a ceasefire came into force in Gaza, hunger is widespread, most Palestinians live in tents or overcrowded shelters without adequate sanitation or access to clean water, and Israeli attacks are still a near-daily occurrence.

Israeli forces intercepted the boats in international waters on Tuesday and brought everyone on board to Israel. Earlier on Wednesday, The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, had also denounced Israel’s actions, describing them as “way out of line”, and questioned the legal basis for the arrests outside Israeli territorial waters.

The global outrage at their treatment prompted the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to condemn Ben-Gvir within hours of the video being published online.

“The way that minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms,” he said, adding that he had ordered the deportation of the group “as soon as possible”.