In a significant diplomatic move that amplifies international backlash against a senior Israeli official, France announced Saturday it has imposed an entry ban on Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, over the official’s public mockery of detained humanitarian activists bound for Gaza. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed the ban in a post on X, stating the restriction was imposed immediately in response to Ben Gvir’s “reprehensible actions” toward French and European citizens who participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a grassroots humanitarian mission to deliver aid to blockaded Gaza. Alongside Italy, Barrot added, France is calling for the European Union to implement collective sanctions against Ben Gvir, marking a growing push for punitive measures at the bloc level. The trigger for this international outcry came on Wednesday, when Ben Gvir published a widely circulated video documenting the harsh treatment of detained flotilla activists in Israeli custody. The activists were intercepted and seized by Israeli military forces in international waters while attempting to reach the besieged Palestinian territory. The viral clip shows dozens of activists forced to kneel on the ground with their foreheads pressed to the surface and their hands bound behind their backs. Ben Gvir, holding an Israeli flag, can be seen heckling the restrained detainees as he walks among them, with the video captioned “Welcome to Israel”. The video sparked immediate global condemnation, prompting Israel to announce it would begin deporting all detained activists. Thirty-six French citizens were among the hundreds of activists on the flotilla, which marks the latest activist effort to break Israel’s 17-year air, land, and sea blockade of Gaza. Even as Barrot emphasized that France does not endorse the flotilla’s voyage, noting the mission “serves no useful purpose” in his view, he made clear that the mistreatment of French nationals could not go unanswered. “We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalised in this way, especially by a public official,” Barrot stated. France’s action is not isolated: Spain has joined the call for EU-level sanctions against Ben Gvir, while the United Kingdom summoned Israel’s top diplomat in London to issue a formal protest over what it called the “inflammatory video”. Even within Israel’s own governing coalition, the incident drew rare criticism. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Ben Gvir’s handling of the detained activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”, though he has opted to keep the far-right minister in his cabinet, a move that reflects the fragile balance of power in Israel’s current right-wing government. Netanyahu has previously framed the humanitarian aid mission as a “malicious scheme” designed to support Hamas, the de facto governing authority in Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla, which departed Turkey last week with roughly 50 vessels carrying hundreds of activists and planned aid shipments, is the second such attempt to breach the Israeli blockade in as many months. A previous flotilla effort was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Greece last month, with most activists expelled back to European countries. Since 2007, Israel has maintained full control over all land, air, and sea entry points into Gaza, restricting the movement of people and goods into the territory. During the 10-month Gaza war, the already dire humanitarian situation in the enclave has collapsed into catastrophe, with widespread acute food shortages, critical gaps in medical care, and repeated full shutdowns of aid deliveries by Israeli forces. The international community has repeatedly condemned Israel’s restrictions on aid, but this marks one of the first formal punitive actions taken by a major European power against a sitting Israeli cabinet minister over actions related to the Gaza conflict.