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Italy issued its sharpest diplomatic rebuke to Israel in years on Wednesday, after a video posted by Israeli far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed him taunting pro-Palestinian activists – including dozens of Italian nationals – who had been detained at Ashdod port following the\u00a0interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla\u00a0in international waters.<\/p>\n
More than 50 vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from southern Turkey with the stated aim of breaking Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian enclave.<\/p>\n
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On Monday, armed Israeli naval commandos began intercepting the fleet in international waters west of Cyprus, around 250 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza.<\/p>\n
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The flotilla’s organisers accused Israel of an illegal high-seas operation, alleging that commandos opened fire at several vessels and used water cannon. Israel denied using live ammunition, insisting it deployed only non-lethal means.<\/p>\n
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Among the 430 activists detained were 29 Italian nationals, including an Italian member of parliament and a journalist. All were transferred to Israeli vessels and brought to Ashdod port for processing.<\/p>\n
The diplomatic crisis sharpened on Wednesday when Ben-Gvir, who oversees Israel’s police force as national security minister, posted a video on social media captioned “Welcome to Israel.”<\/p>\n
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The footage, which circulated widely and was broadcast by Italian and international media, showed him visiting the Ashdod detention facility. He is seen walking past a female activist who shouts “Free, Free, Palestine” as security personnel\u00a0shove her to the floor violently.<\/p>\n
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He then waves an Israeli flag next to dozens of kneeling activists with their hands bound behind their backs, addressing them in Hebrew: “Welcome to Israel. We are the masters.”<\/p>\n
Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella issued a short but unusually blunt personal statement in reaction to the video,\u00a0lamenting\u00a0the “uncivil treatment inflicted on people detained illegally in international waters, which reaches\u00a0the lowest\u00a0level at the hands of a minister of the Israeli government.”<\/p>\n
Prime minister Giorgia Meloni and foreign minister Antonio Tajani issued a joint declaration stating that the treatment of flotilla activists was “unacceptable” and “violated human dignity”, and that Italy demanded an apology for the “total disregard shown towards the explicit requests of the Italian government.”<\/p>\n
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The Italian foreign ministry summoned Israeli ambassador Jonathan Peled, reiterating the unacceptability of what had occurred, emphasising that the citizens involved were unarmed and had no violent intentions, and expressing “strong indignation.”<\/p>\n
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The government stated it was reserving the right to evaluate the most appropriate political initiatives to take, including at European level.<\/p>\n
Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto directed pointed remarks at Ben-Gvir directly, writing on X: “We pride ourselves on other things, Minister. We pride ourselves on always having treated your compatriots with respect and we do not have the habit of arresting people in international waters – rather, we rescue them if they need it. I don’t think this kind of behaviour does Israel any good.”<\/p>\n
Tajani also confirmed that two Italians – parliamentarian Dario Carotenuto of the opposition Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) and journalist Alessandro Mantovani – were expected to leave Israel that evening and return to Italy.<\/p>\n
Italy’s opposition parties went further than the government. Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) party called the images “chilling,” described the actions as “crimes against human dignity,” and demanded sanctions against Israel and an end to the EU-Israel association agreement.<\/p>\n
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Questo \u00e8 il Ministro israeliano Ben Gvir che umilia e vessa gli attivisti della Flotilla, dopo un arresto illegale eseguito a mano armata in acque internazionali in cui \u00e8 stato coinvolto anche il deputato del M5S Dario Carotenuto, anche lui imbarcato per portare aiuti umanitari e\u2026\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/68sVl3IrAD<\/a><\/p>\n