Mark Carney Condemns Israel’s Appalling Gaza Flotilla Treatment After Ben-Gvir Video

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced the “appalling treatment” of Gaza-bound aid flotilla activists as “unacceptable” during a call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to a statement from Carney’s office.

Carney called for an independent investigation and “strongly condemned” remarks by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose video mocked activists after they were seized in international waters by Israeli soldiers.

ABC News

In that video, dozens of activists, including 12 Canadian citizens, were forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied.

Herzog’s office said the two leaders agreed that Israel had the right to defend itself, with a statement saying Herzog “reiterated that Israel is acting against the threat of terror in accordance with international law.”

A joint statement on Monday from top diplomats including Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates condemned Ben-Gvir’s “deliberate public humiliation of detainees,” warning that his actions could further destabilize the region.

The Jakarta Post reported that more than 430 volunteers aboard 50 boats were intercepted on May 18 in international waters by Israeli forces seeking to stop the flotilla from delivering aid to Gaza, and that the convoy included participants from 40 countries.

African Manager

After their release on May 21, convoy participants alleged severe mistreatment during detention, including humiliation, beatings and sexual assault by Israeli authorities, with some requiring hospitalization.

Australian activist and documentary filmmaker Juliet Lamont told Reuters she was dragged, sexually assaulted and beaten while in custody, saying: “That was just the beginning of four days of absolute hell.”

The Al Jazeera weekly wrap said the footage of Ben-Gvir gloating over largely foreign activists who were forced to kneel with arms bound triggered the “most significant international diplomatic backlash against Israel in recent weeks.”

It reported that France banned Ben-Gvir from entering its territory, while more than a dozen governments including Italy, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Germany and South Korea summoned Israeli ambassadors or issued formal condemnations after the detention of their citizens.

By Sunday, President Isaac Herzog publicly condemned settler violence as “brutishness” that “threatens us all,” and said it must be “forbidden to abuse prisoners.”

In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the advancement of the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar in the E1 corridor east of Jerusalem, and quoted him saying: “The Palestinian Authority has started a war, and it’ll get a war,” to Israeli media.