Netanyahu criticizes Ben-Gvir after the mistreatment of "Steadfastness Flotilla" activists and orders their swift deportation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after the mistreatment of activists from the “Steadfastness Flotilla” intercepted by his forces, and confirmed that he had ordered their deportation to be expedited.

“The way Minister Ben-Gvir treated the flotilla activists is not in keeping with Israel’s values ​​and standards,” Netanyahu said in a statement after Ben-Gvir posted a video showing the activists kneeling with their hands tied. “I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the inciters (activists) as quickly as possible.”

Ben-Gvir posted a video showing activists from the “Steadfastness Flotilla” heading to the Gaza Strip, being detained, some of them kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads to the ground.

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.