Images and videos from the port of Ashdod showed Gaza Flotilla activists kneeling and handcuffed with their faces to the floor after being detained. International protests followed, with multiple Western countries condemning Israel’s treatment of the activists. Itamar Ben-Gvir remained defiant, warning that anyone entering Israel’s territory to support terrorism and identify with Hamas would face harsh punishment. He also asserted that Israel’s authorities are the “landowners” and that Israel would not “turn the other cheek.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself from Ben-Gvir’s conduct, saying Israel has the right to prevent provocative flotillas but that the handling of activists did not match Israel’s values. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar similarly criticized Ben-Gvir’s actions.
"“Whoever comes to our territory to support terrorism and identify with Hamas, will receive harsh punishment,” he warned on social networks, after several Western countries, including Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany, condemned Israel's treatment of the activists, criticism that has even come from a handful of Israeli leaders. “We will not turn the other cheek,” Ben-Gvir railed. Welcome to Israel. We are the landowners here; that is how it should be, the minister shouted at dozens of detainees as he waved the Israeli flag."
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to distance himself from Ben-Gvir that same day. “Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza,” he said in a statement. “However, the way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms.” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who is a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, agreed."
"“You knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display and not for the first time,” he said in a statement on X regarding Ben-Gvir. “You are not the face of Israel.” But Ben-Gvir's conduct towards international activists is the same as it was prior to 2022, when Netanyahu hung on to power by creating a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties that made a minister of Ben-Gvir."
"Raised in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, the current head of National Security was 18 years old when the army refused to allow him to enlist because of his extremist views. At 19, he made headlines as a f..."
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