FILE – Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir gestures after the release of election exit poll results at his party’s headquarters in Jerusalem on November 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv, File)

France announced it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country after he released videos mocking and intimidating pro-Palestinian activists detained from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The video shared by the Israeli minister has also drawn widespread international condemnation and renewed calls for European sanctions against the far-right minister.The French foreign minister announced the move in a post on Twitter, accusing Ben-Gvir of “inexplicable” behavior towards French and European citizens, who were among hundreds of activists stopped by Israeli forces in international waters earlier this week. Barrot wrote, “To date, Itamar Ben-Gvir is prohibited from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions towards French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla.”“We cannot tolerate that French citizens can be intimidated, threatened or brutalized in this way – even more so by a public official,” he said, adding that he also urged the EU to impose bloc-wide sanctions on the Israeli minister.The ban comes after a video shared by Ben-Gvir on Wednesday sparked outrage across Europe and rights groups. In a post on Twitter, he shared a video of detained flotilla activists and captioned it, “This is how we accept supporters of terrorism. Welcome to Israel.”In one clip, the minister is seen waving a large Israeli flag over prone detainees, whose hands appeared to be tied. Another clip of the video shows him shouting “Am Yisrael Chai” – Hebrew for “the nation of Israel lives”) at a kneeling activist with zip-tied wrists.The footage also showed detainees kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground inside an outdoor holding area while the Israeli national anthem played and armed guards surrounded them. The footage was titled “Welcome to Israel”.Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters when the convoy attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The activists set sail from Turkey aboard about 50 ships as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla initiative, saying they were delivering humanitarian aid and protesting the blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.According to French authorities, the detained activists included 36 French citizens. Israel later said the detainees would be deported.Barrot criticized the flotilla mission itself, saying that France did not support the activists’ viewpoint.They wrote, “We reject this flotilla approach, which produces no useful effect and imposes an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services.”Despite that criticism, France said the treatment of detainees crossed a line. Barrot said he was coordinating with Italy in pursuing EU sanctions against Ben-Gvir.Spain has also urged the European Union to impose sanctions on an Israeli minister, while the United Kingdom has summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat to London over what it described as an “inflammatory video”.Netanyahu distanced himself from the video but refrained from taking action against his coalition partner. The Israeli Prime Minister said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values ​​and norms”, although he retained him in his Cabinet, news agency AP reported.At the same time, Netanyahu defended Israel’s interception of the flotilla, previously describing the aid mission as a “malicious plan” aimed at supporting Hamas.Israel has maintained tight control over all entry points into Gaza for nearly two decades. The blockade is facing increasing international scrutiny during the ongoing Gaza war, as there are severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies in the area. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly during the period when Israel completely halted aid distribution.The latest flotilla operation follows a similar attempt last month that was stopped by Israeli authorities in international waters near Greece, with most of the activists later expelled to Europe.