PARIS: France announced on Saturday it has banned Zionist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for mocking bound activists seized by Zionist soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. “From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory” after “his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens” who were part of the humanitarian flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. He added that, with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Zionist minister.
The ban follows a global outcry after Ben Gvir published a video on Wednesday showing the heavy-handed treatment in Zionist custody of foreign activists from the flotilla. They were detained by Zionists after soldiers seized them in international waters. In the video, dozens of activists are seen forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied. The clip, which was captioned “Welcome to (Zionist entity)”, showed Ben Gvir heckling the activists while waving a Zionist flag. After the outcry, Zionist entity said it was deporting the activists.
Thirty-six French nationals were on board the flotilla, the latest attempt by activists to breach Zionist blockade of Gaza after Zionist forces intercepted a previous convoy last month. While Barrot said France disapproved of the flotilla’s actions, arguing they served “no useful purpose”, he added that “we cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way, especially by a public official.”
Spain has also urged the EU to sanction Ben Gvir while the United Kingdom summoned Zionist most senior diplomat in Britain following “the inflammatory video”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Ben Gvir’s treatment of the activists was “not in line with (Zionist) values and norms”, but he kept the security minister in his post. Netanyahu had earlier denounced the humanitarian aid mission as a “malicious scheme” intended to support Hamas.
The activists had departed from Turkey last week on around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla. Zionist entity controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under a Zionist blockade since 2007.
During the Gaza war, the territory suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Zionist entity at times halting aid deliveries entirely. A previous flotilla attempt was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe.- AFP