France has banned the Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, from entering its territory, citing his conduct toward activists detained from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, as international condemnation over the treatment of the 430 detainees continued to mount yesterday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the ban on X, saying the decision followed Ben-Gvir’s “unspeakable actions toward French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla.”
“We cannot tolerate that a French national can be threatened, intimidated or brutalised in this way, all the more so by a public official,” Barrot wrote.
Ben-Gvir sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting detained flotilla activists who were seen forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied, as they awaited deportation at the southern port of Ashdod.
Poland had already barred Ben-Gvir earlier in the week, announcing a five-year ban on Thursday. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski posted: “In the democratic world we do not abuse and gloat over people in custody.”
