Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister posted a video of himself Wednesday taunting detained pro-Palestinian activists while they were handcuffed and pinned down to the deck of a ship, drawing outrage both abroad and at home \u2014 including from his ally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
In the minute-long video<\/a> released by the minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, at least one of the detainees can be seen being manhandled by police officers on Tuesday while the Israeli national anthem is heard playing. It brought swift and rare criticism from Mr. Netanyahu.<\/p>\n The caption of the video read: \u201cThis is how we receive terror supporters. Welcome to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n The activists were arrested at a port in southern Israel after the Israeli Navy intercepted a protest flotilla attempting to reach the Gaza Strip. The 430 people detained included Italian, Spanish, and French nationals, and those countries all condemned Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s actions. They said they would summon Israel\u2019s ambassadors to express their outrage.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy demanded an apology<\/a> from Israel for the treatment of the activists, which she called a \u201cviolation of human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Netanyahu, whose government has relied heavily on Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s support, also took issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way that minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel\u2019s values and norms,\u201d Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement. He said he had ordered the authorities to \u201cdeport the provocateurs as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s foreign minister, Gideon Sa\u2019ar, said on the social media platform X that Mr. Ben-Gvir had \u201cknowingly damaged the state with this disgraceful spectacle.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel known for his support of Israel\u2019s far-right settlement movement, called Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s actions \u201cdespicable,\u201d saying he had \u201cbetrayed the dignity of his nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Ben-Gvir was unrepentant.<\/p>\n Asked to comment on the international outcry, a spokesman for the minister shared a speech in the Knesset, Israel\u2019s parliament, in which Mr. Ben-Gvir said that Mr. Sa\u2019ar, the foreign minister, was the one damaging the country by bowing to terrorists.<\/p>\n \u201cThe days of our country being a punching bag are over,\u201d Mr. Ben Gvir said in the speech. \u201cThe days where terrorists want to hurt us and we had to be apologetic, nice and understating are over.\u201d<\/p>\n Legal experts say the treatment of the international activists shown in Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s video likely violates international law. Janina Dill, a scholar of the laws of war at Oxford University, said the Geneva Conventions prohibit humiliating or degrading treatment of anyone detained in the context of an armed conflict.<\/p>\n The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the protest group behind the campaign, said its aim had been to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. But Israel intercepted their vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, about 140 miles away.<\/p>\n