PARIS: France has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering French territory following international outrage over the ill-treatment of Gaza bound aid flotilla activists detained after attempting to sail humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X on Satirday, describing the move as a response to the minister’s “reprehensible actions” towards French and European citizens who were part of the Gaza-bound flotilla.
Barrot said France was also pushing for broader European action against the far-right Israeli minister.
“Along with my Italian counterpart, I am asking the European Union to also take sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir,” he wrote.
The French decision came amid mounting criticism from Western governments after Ben-Gvir posted a video mocking activists detained by Israeli forces after their vessels were intercepted in international waters earlier this week.
The footage showed dozens of activists kneeling with their foreheads on the ground and their hands tied while under guard.
The clip, captioned “Welcome to Israel”, also showed Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag and taunting the detainees.
Some activists later claimed they were physically assaulted during detention.
The activists had been travelling aboard around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s illegal blockade of the Palestinian enclave.
The convoy had departed from Turkiye last week. Israeli naval forces intercepted the vessels in international waters before transferring the activists to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod.
The activists were later deported from Israel.
France’s move added to growing European pressure on Israel over the incident.
Spain has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir, while the United Kingdom summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in London following the minister’s “inflammatory video”.
Barrot said the French ban reflected increasing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of the flotilla activists.
