ROME —Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has demanded an apology from Tel Aviv, slamming its “unacceptable” treatment of Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel after an Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel.
The Israeli Defense Forces intercepted the flotilla of some 50 vessels on Sunday, firing rubber bullets, boarding the boats and taking some 400 activists from 40 countries back to 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, referring to the video posted by far-right national Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
In another sign of deteriorating Israeli-Italian relations, Meloni announced on Wednesday that her foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, called in the Israeli ambassador “to seek formal clarification”, according to an official statement.
“Italy also demands an apology for the treatment inflicted on these demonstrators and for the total disregard shown toward the explicit requests of the Italian government,” the Italian leader said, while calling for the immediate release of any detained Italian citizens.
The video posted by Ben Gvir showed activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground.
The footage, published on Ben Gvir’s X account and captioned “Welcome to Israel,” shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat with the Israeli national anthem blaring, and in detention in Israel, where the firebrand minister is seen waving an Israeli flag.
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.
Source: Saudi Gazette