Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he has requested that the European Union impose sanctions on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over his treatment of Global Sumud Flotilla activists.
Tajani said on Thursday on X that he had formally asked EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to include the adoption of sanctions against Ben-Gvir on the agenda of the next meeting of EU foreign ministers.
He noted that the request comes in response to "the unacceptable acts committed against the Flotilla, seizing the activists in international waters and subjecting them to harassment and humiliation, in violation of the most basic human rights."
Separately, Tajani said that Israel does not have the right to humiliate prisoners following the publication of a video showing the treatment of activists by Israeli authorities.
"I am outraged. Israel has the right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to humiliate prisoners, defenceless people who have committed no acts of violence and are not terrorists," Tajani told Avvenire newspaper on Thursday.
He pointed to the distinction between maintaining a naval blockade and "questioning people’s dignity and safety."
Tajani’s statement comes amid growing global outrage after Ben-Gvir posted a video on social media mocking pro-Palestinian activists from the Global Sumud flotilla following their detention by Israeli forces in international waters. The footage showed activists kneeling with their hands zip-tied during the detention.
“For us, a red line has been crossed,” Tajani said, warning that incidents like this deepen Israel’s international isolation “even among its closest friends.”
He added that Italy was demanding explanations from the Israeli government and would evaluate possible political and diplomatic measures at the European level.
“Even those who disagree with flotilla campaigns or consider them provocative cannot tolerate unarmed civilians being treated this way,” Tajani said, while reiterating Italy’s call for the immediate repatriation of those detained.
