Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday sharply condemned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after videos emerged showing him mocking detained international aid activists intercepted aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla.
The diplomatic friction unfolded following the Israeli Navy's interception of the "Global Sumud Flotilla," a humanitarian convoy carrying roughly 430 international volunteers trying to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The video shared by Ben-Gvir showed bound and kneeling activists being processed at the port of Ashdod, drawing immediate global condemnation.
"State Minister Ben-Gvir is acting like a true Nazi,” Petro wrote on his account on the US social media company X. "That’s how he treated our fellow citizens, simply because they wanted to stop the genocide in Gaza.”
In the video posted online, Ben-Gvir can be seen carrying and waving a large Israeli flag as he walks among hundreds of handcuffed activists forced to kneel with their heads touching the floor at a makeshift detention facility.
