Ben Ghafir publishes a video showing activists from the "Steadfastness Flotilla" detained, handcuffed, and kneeling.
On Wednesday, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video showing activists from the “Steadfastness Flotilla” bound for the Gaza Strip being detained, some of them kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads to the ground.
The video shows dozens of activists on board a military vessel, then inside a detention center in Israel, where Ben-Gvir is seen waving the Israeli flag and chanting “Long live Israel” in front of one of the restrained activists.
Ben-Gvir appeared thanking Israeli forces after an activist was violently pushed to the ground following her shouting “Freedom, freedom for Palestine” as he passed by.
The “Global Resilience Flotilla,” which set sail from Turkey last week, is the third initiative in a year aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been suffering from severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.
Israel began intercepting the flotilla on Monday off the coast of Cyprus.
Israel controls all entry points into the Gaza Strip, which it has been blockading since 2007.
Since the start of the Gaza war, the sector has experienced a severe shortage of basic supplies, as Israel has at times completely prevented the entry of aid.
For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar criticized Ben-Gvir and considered his behavior a "shameful display".
In a post on the X platform, Saar addressed Ben-Gvir, saying, “You have deliberately harmed the State of Israel through this shameful display, and it is not the first time. You have ruined the great, professional and successful efforts of many, from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry employees and others. No, you are not the face of Israel.”
The Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel commented on the video, saying that “Israel is pursuing a criminal policy based on abuse and humiliation against activists who seek to confront Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.”
The center added that its lawyers went to the detention center in southern Israel to meet with more than 430 detained activists.