JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's national security minister drew a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and triggered a backlash abroad Wednesday, after releasing videos taunting detained flotilla activists who tried to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza, telling them they should be imprisoned for a long time.
Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” the way National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with Israel's values and norms.”
Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area and on the deck of a ship.
“Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” says Ben-Gvir, waving a large Israeli flag. One handcuffed activist shouts “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walks by and is immediately pushed to the ground by security personnel.
In another video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” while appealing to Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them.
