Officials across Europe have slammed Israel’s treatment of activists arrested from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after a senior Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel.
Here are some of the key reactions from officials across the continent.
Belgium
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the Israeli ambassador would be summoned to explain the video.
“Belgian citizens are among those detained. This situation is unacceptable. It violates the most basic standards of human dignity. All detainees must be treated with dignity and released without delay,” Prevot wrote on X.
France
France summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest at the actions of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who posted the footage.
“I have requested that the Israeli ambassador to France be summoned to express our indignation and obtain an explanation,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X.
Germany
Germany’s ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert said the treatment of the activists was “wholly unacceptable.”
“It is good to hear many Israeli voices – including the foreign minister – call out in all clarity Minister Ben Gvir’s treatment of the detainees for what it is: wholly unacceptable and incompatible with the basic values of our countries,” Seibert wrote on X.
Greece
Greece’s foreign ministry called for the release of Greek activists, thought to number 19, to be released.
“The conduct of the Israeli Minister of National Security, which targeted citizens participating in the ‘Global Sumud Flotilla,’ is unacceptable and absolutely condemnable,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ireland
Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video and demanded the immediate release of the “illegally detained” activists.
Among the detainees is the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly.
Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the immediate release of detained Italian activists and demanded an apology from Israel.
“It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity,” Meloni said in a statement.
Spain
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the Israeli envoy in Madrid had been summoned.
“That treatment is monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane,” Albares said.
The Netherlands
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten wrote on X that the Israeli ambassador had been summoned, while Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen called the treatment of the activists “shocking and unacceptable.”
Criticism from Israel
The posting of that video drew a sharp rebuke from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The way minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs (activists) as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
And Ben Gvir was also criticised by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
“You knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display and not for the first time. You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others. No, you are not the face of Israel,” Sa’ar said in a post on X.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
The Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while the Adalah rights group said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
During the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Israel at times halting aid deliveries entirely.
Additional sources • AFP
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