Israel's Ben-Gvir taunts detained Gaza flotilla activists in video

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has posted a video of himself taunting foreign activists abducted from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla at a makeshift holding pen in Israel’s city of Ashdod.

The activists, abducted by Israeli forces in international waters, are seen cable-tied and kneeling while Israel’s national anthem blares in the video, which was released on Wednesday.

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list 1 of 4Israeli far-right minister Smotrich says ICC seeks his arrest

list 2 of 4Several nations summon Israeli envoys as Ben-Gvir taunts flotilla activists

list 3 of 4Israel’s Ben-Gvir publishes video taunting detained flotilla activists

list 4 of 4US condemns Israel’s Ben-Gvir while sanctioning Gaza flotilla organisers

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Several countries, including Italy and France, have summoned Israeli ambassadors to explain the stunt.

As well as a global backlash, the video has even been met with sharp rebukes from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and staunch ally, United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

We break down what we know so far.

Who is Ben-Gvir?

The 50-year-old lawyer and politician has led the far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party in Israel since 2019. He was sworn into the cabinet after the 2022 elections.

He was later appointed as national security minister and given control of Israel’s Border Police division in the occupied West Bank.

A settler in Kiryat Arba, one of the most radical settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank – all of which are illegal under international law – Ben-Gvir has convictions for incitement to racism, destroying property, possessing a “terror” organisation’s propaganda material and supporting a “terror” organisation – Meir Kahane’s outlawed Kach group, whose founder advocated for expelling non-Jews from Israel and which Ben-Gvir joined when he was 16.

He frequently carries out anti-Palestinian acts, including regularly storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ⁠in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old ⁠City, Islam’s third holiest site, alongside Israeli settlers and under the protection of Israeli forces.

He often performs Jewish prayers at the site, which is not allowed for non-Muslims as part of a status quo arrangement in place since 1967, and has expressed his intention to build a Jewish synagogue in place of the holy Muslim site.

Who are the flotilla activists?

This refers primarily to the Gaza aid flotillas – groups of boats carrying activists from different countries which have set out across the Mediterranean in an attempt to deliver aid and raise awareness at various times since October 2023, when Israel launched its brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

But the modern flotilla movement goes back further than this. It emerged in 2006 during Israel’s war on Lebanon and expanded after Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza in 2007.

Since then, hundreds of vessels organised by international solidarity groups have attempted to reach the territory, carrying humanitarian aid and activists.

In 2008, two boats from the Free Gaza Movement became the first to successfully reach Gaza by sea despite the blockade.

But since 2010, Israeli forces have intercepted nearly every flotilla in international waters.

On Tuesday, at least 430 activists from more than 46 countries were abducted during Israeli interceptions of the latest flotilla.

What did Ben-Gvir say and do in the video?

In the video released on Wednesday, a woman approaches the minister and says in English, “Free Palestine!” before masked security officers put their hands on her head as they snap it down and push her away.

“Good job,” Ben-Gvir says to the officers, before stating, “Welcome to Israel. We are the landowners here; that is how it should be.”

Activists are then seen on their knees with their heads on the ground and arms tied behind their backs in “stress positions” as the figures of armed Israeli security officers look down on them from atop shipping containers.

Ben-Gvir, waving an Israeli flag and heavily protected by security personnel, can be seen weaving in between the activists, appearing to relish the moment as he taunts them.

What has the global response to the video been?

Several countries, including Italy, France, the Netherlands and Canada, have summoned Israeli ambassadors to their capitals to express their “indignation” over Israel’s treatment of the abducted Gaza flotilla activists and to demand the release of their citizens.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also denounced Ben-Gvir’s actions as “unacceptable”, calling for the release of French citizens “as soon as possible”.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand called the incident “deeply troubling”.

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the video showed “totally disgraceful scenes”.

“The images of Israeli Minister Ben Gvir are unacceptable. It is unacceptable that these protesters, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates their human dignity,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on X.

How have activists been treated before?

In May 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, 10 activists were killed and dozens were wounded.

Allegations of mistreatment by activists who have been brought to Israel after naval interceptions have been common, and organisers say they fear sanctions and accusations of Hamas links are being used to justify further crackdowns.

The concerns come amid previous allegations by activists of abuse, including sexual abuse, during past interceptions by Israeli officials.

Organisers have also accused Israeli naval forces of firing “rubber bullets” at activists during the latest interception, which occurred in international waters.

Many activists who have previously been detained have been eager to point out that the focus should be on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who are subjected to torture and do not have the option to be deported.

In 2025, high-profile activist Greta Thunberg, who was on board a previous flotilla, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that activists had been beaten, kicked and threatened with being gassed in cages.

However, she emphasised that the attention should not remain on the activists as there are “thousands of Palestinians, hundreds of whom are children, who are being held without trial right now, and many of them are most likely being tortured”.

How does Israel treat Palestinian prisoners?

Nearly 10,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons in Israel and in the occupied territory, according to the prisoners’ rights group Addameer.

Some 3,532 of them are administrative detainees – people held without charge or trial – while 342 are children.

Israel is the only country in the world that tries children in military courts, often denying them their basic rights.

Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons suffer near-constant dehumanising treatment by guards and soldiers.

Under a new law passed this year and spearheaded by Ben-Gvir, military courts are now able to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts of “terror”.

This law will not impose the same penalty on Jewish Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians, which reinforces the legal inequalities that grant privileges to Jewish citizens while targeting Palestinians.