PARIS, May 23 (Reuters) – France has decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, adding that this reflected growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza.
“As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory,” Barrot wrote on X.
“Along with my Italian counterpart, I am asking the European Union to also take sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir.”
Western governments expressed outrage after Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting activists who had intended to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza being pinned to the ground. Some later alleged they had been physically assaulted in detention, allegations that Israel’s prison service denied.
Ben-Gvir was rebuked by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally. Netanyahu said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
A spokesperson for Ben-Gvir did not immediately reply to a request for a comment on the French decision.
The activists, whose vessels were intercepted this week in international waters by the Israeli navy, have been deported from Israel.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Kevin Liffey)
