Political anger has flared since footage emerged last month showing detained activists being mistreated
Amid rising anger about the treatment of Gaza aid flotilla activists by Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, pressure is mounting to prepare fresh EU sanctions that will apply to far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Ben-Gvir became the focus of intense international uproar following the publication of a video in which he was shown humiliating detained activists, many of them Italian citizens. After Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla, participants were made to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs while the Israeli minister appeared to mock them.
The footage led to strong criticism by Italian politicians, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani lobbying for the issue to be put on the EU’s agenda. The sanctions proposal appears alongside an increasingly critical and detailed assessment of Israeli policy, including its military action in Lebanon.
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