French prosecutors said on Friday that they had opened a preliminary investigation into the treatment of French activists who have accused the Israeli authorities of abuse after the pro-Palestinian flotilla they were on was intercepted en route to Gaza.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors, part of France\u2019s antiterrorism office, said in a statement that they would investigate the activists\u2019 allegations of torture and war crimes. The flotilla\u2019s detention drew increased international attention after an Israeli government minister last month posted a video<\/a> of himself taunting detained activists.<\/p>\n The Israeli authorities have denied mistreating the activists, who were released and deported<\/a> to Turkey.<\/p>\n The French investigation comes as Israel faces increasing diplomatic isolation, especially among longtime European allies, over the course of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza that followed the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023.<\/p>\n Pro-Palestinian activists have repeatedly tried to challenge Israel\u2019s naval blockade<\/a> of the Gaza Strip and deliver aid there to alleviate the enclave\u2019s humanitarian crisis<\/a>, and ramped up those efforts after Israel tightened restrictions during the war.<\/p>\n Last month, a group of activists, including the French ones whose accusations are to be investigated, made another attempt and were intercepted in the Mediterranean. After one ship with that flotilla was halted, Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a video<\/a> of himself taunting activists while they were handcuffed and pinned down to the deck of a ship, drawing outrage both abroad and at home.<\/p>\n In the minute-long video, police officers can be seen manhandling at least one of the detainees while the Israeli national anthem is heard playing. It brought swift and rare criticism from Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s conduct was \u201cnot in line with Israel\u2019s values and norms.\u201d He said he had ordered the authorities to \u201cdeport the provocateurs as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 400 people were detained, including Italian, Spanish, Australian and French nationals, and those countries condemned Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s actions. Legal experts have said the treatment of the international activists shown in Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s video likely violated international law.<\/p>\n After their release, some of the activists said they had been abused in Israeli detention. A statement released by the Global Sumud Flotilla, which helped organize the action, said some of the activists had been kicked and beaten, while others had been sexually assaulted.<\/p>\n The Israeli military denied \u201callegations of abuse\u201d by Israeli soldiers \u201cduring the operations to protect the legal naval security blockade.\u201d Israel\u2019s prison service, whose guards oversee detainees, said the accusations were \u201cfalse and entirely without factual basis.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Times is looking into the activists\u2019 accounts, but has not independently confirmed them.<\/p>\n After the video was posted, France barred Mr. Ben-Gvir<\/a> from the country. Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot said that while he disapproved of the activists\u2019 approach, \u201cwe cannot tolerate that French nationals can be threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way \u2014 all the more so by a public official.\u201d<\/p>\n