France and Italy summoned Israeli ambassadors on Wednesday after videos circulated showing activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition being mistreated while detained by Israeli authorities.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the scenes involving handcuffed activists forced to kneel and mistreated by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as “unacceptable,” particularly because several detainees were Italian citizens.
“It is unacceptable that these demonstrators should be subjected to treatment that violates human dignity,” Meloni said in a social media statement.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would convey France’s “outrage” to the Israeli ambassador and demand explanations regarding the footage.
Barrot stressed that the safety of French nationals remained a priority and called for the detained activists to be treated with respect and released promptly.
