France banned National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Saturday, following the controversy sparked by Ben-Gvir’s treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla participants detained last week.
“As of this day, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from accessing French territory,” said Barrot, who clarified that the French government disapproves of the flotilla approach to the Gaza situation as it “produces no useful effect and burdens diplomatic and consular services, whose professionalism and dedication I salute.”
But Barrot also explained that France “cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated, or brutalized in this way, especially by a public official.
“I note that these actions have been condemned by a large number of Israeli government and political figures,” he added and pointed out that “they follow a long list of shocking statements and actions, incitements to hatred and violence against Palestinians.”
Barrot also asked the rest of the European Union members to follow France’s lead in banning Ben-Gvir from entering the continent, a move Italy already made last week.
Italy condemns Ben-Gvir, demands imposition of EU sanctions
Italy was the first European nation to condemn Ben-Gvir after the video of him harassing flotilla participants was published, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying Italy “demands an apology for the treatment” of the activists and the “total disrespect” for the Italian government’s requests.
“The images of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir are unacceptable. It is inadmissible that these protesters, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to treatment that harms their personal dignity.”
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni added that her government was “immediately taking, at the highest institutional levels, all necessary steps to secure the immediate release of the Italian citizens involved.”
Finally, Tajani said on Thursday that he “formally requested from the High Representative Kaja Kallas to include in the next discussion of the EU Foreign Ministers the adoption of sanctions against the Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir.”
António Costa, president of the European Union, said i he is “appalled” by Ben-Gvir’s “completely unacceptable” actions and called for the immediate release of the detained flotilla activists.
Ben-Gvir shared on Wednesday a video of him harassing detained flotilla activists in Ashdod after Israeli forces intercepted their ships on Tuesday.
In the video, he can be seen forcing the head down of a flotilla activist after she yelled, “Free, free Palestine,” to which he responds in Hebrew, “Shut up!” and continues walking.
In a separate clip, he is depicted as waving an Israeli flag while shouting out in Hebrew: “Welcome to Israel! We own this place.”
Corinne Baum and Reuters contributed to this report.
