Beranda Perang Middle East: Iran says any new attack will widen war

Middle East: Iran says any new attack will widen war

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May 20, 2026

Israel’s treatment of aid flotilla activists sparks global outrage

Several countries have condemned Israel’s treatment of activists detained on a Gaza aid flotilla, as seen in a video shared by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

On Wednesday, he released videos in which he could be seen taunting detained Gaza flotilla activists. One of the videos showed the activists with their hands tied behind their backs, kneeling with their heads touching the floor.

“It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement.

Germany‘s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, labelled far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s treatment of detained activists as “wholly unacceptable and incompatible with the basic values of our countries.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he had summoned the ‌Israeli ambassador â in â Paris in response to the video. “Mr. Ben Gvir’s actions ‌towards ​the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, denounced by his ​own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable,” â Barrot ​said in ​a post on X.

The Netherlands will also summon Israel’s ambassador to address the “unacceptable” treatment of detained ‌Gaza â flotilla â activists, Dutch Foreign Minister ‌Tom Berendsen said on ‌Wednesday.

British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said she was “truly appalled” by the video. “We ‌have ​demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities and made clear their obligations ​to protect the rights of our citizens and all those â involved,” ​Cooper said.

Meanwhile,Turkey‘s Foreign Ministry said that Ben Gvir “has once again openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mentality of the Netanyahu government.”

Canada will summon the Israeli ambassador to protest, Foreign Minister Anita ​Anand said on Wednesday. “What ​we’ve seen, including the ​video ‌shared by Itamar Ben-Gvir, is deeply troubling and absolutely ‌unacceptable,” she told reporters on ‌a ​conference call.

Netanyahu criticizes Ben Gvir

Ben Gvir’s video also drew criticism from within the Israeli government.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” he added that the way that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists “is not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has openly distanced himself from Ben Gvir.”You knowingly caused harm to our state with this disgraceful display — and not for the first time,” he wrote on X, stressing that Ben Gvir “is not the face of Israel.”