[News] Ben Gvir slams Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla activists’ release

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ben-gvir-slams-netanyahu-over-gaza-flotilla-activists--relea>
Ben Gvir slams Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla activists’ release
Al Mayadeen English
October 3, 2025
------------------------------

Ben Gvir attacks Netanyahu for deporting Gaza flotilla activists, demanding
they remain jailed in harsh conditions as calls grow for international
intervention.

   - [image: Surrounded by security guards, Israeli far-right Police
   Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participates in march marking 'Jerusalem Day' in
   Damascus Gate of al-Quds' Old City, Monday, May 26, 2025 (AP)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/10/3/ee656eba-8f70-4f2e-afcc-a78eb878f739.jpg?width=1000>
   Surrounded by security guards, Israeli far-right Police Minister Itamar
   Ben-Gvir participates in march marking 'Jerusalem Day' in Damascus Gate of
   al-Quds' Old City, Monday, May 26, 2025 (AP)

Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has sharply criticized Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to deport the activists of the Global
Sumud Flotilla
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mass-demonstrations-after-israeli-occupation-attacks-sumud-f>,
who were detained while attempting to reach the Gaza Strip to break the
blockade.

Speaking to the press, Ben Gvir described Netanyahu’s decision to allow the
flotilla participants to return to their countries as “a fundamental
mistake.” He argued that the detainees should have been imprisoned in
“Israel” for months, saying: “They should be kept in Israeli jails to smell
the suites in which the terrorist prisoners are kept. Sending them back
time after time only encourages their return.”

The far-right minister has been pressing for harsher treatment of the detained
activists
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greta-thunberg-arrested-as--israel--intercepts-gaza-aid-flot>,
personally visiting sites of their detention to ensure they were handled
under what he described as “security prisoner” conditions.
>From Asdod port to Ketziot prison

Ben Gvir arrived at the port of Asdod after the conclusion of Yom Kippur,
where Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and southern commander Haim Bublil
oversaw the transfer of detainees to Israeli prison authorities.

At Ketziot prison, Ben Gvir ordered officials to treat the flotilla
participants
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-occupation-regime-navy-raid-gaza-flotilla-s-alma--si>
as “terrorists,” shouting at them: “You are terrorists.” He added: “As
promised, those who joined the flotilla are now in a security prison,
receiving the same treatment as terrorists in every sense of the word.”

The minister further boasted that the detainees were given prison uniforms,
harsh conditions, and “only the bare minimum,” in line with his earlier
pledges. Inside the detention facility, a banner was hung depicting Gaza in
ruins with the slogan “New Gaza.”
Conflicting narratives

The Israeli foreign ministry announced Thursday that none of the flotilla
ships had succeeded in reaching the Gaza Strip, insisting that “the situation
of the flotilla participants is good
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/aid-flotilla-prepares-for-worst-case-scenario-as-it-nears-ga>.”
This statement appeared to contradict Ben Gvir’s public directives for
punitive measures.

On the other hand, organizers of the flotilla said that more than 443
volunteers from 47 countries were being held unlawfully after Israeli
forces intercepted their mission. They called for urgent international
intervention to secure the safety of the detainees and demanded their
immediate release.

Mass demonstrations erupted across Arab and Western countries in response
to the Israeli occupation’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greta-thunberg-arrested-as--israel--intercepts-gaza-aid-flot>,
which was sailing toward Gaza to break the blockade and deliver
humanitarian aid.

Protesters voiced solidarity with Palestine and demanded accountability for
the aggression.
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-occupation-regime-navy-raid-gaza-flotilla-s-alma--si>
Europe: Strikes and protests against Israeli aggression

In Europe
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italian-union-declares-general-strike-over-attack-on-gaza-ai>,
thousands took to the streets in Greece, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and Italy.
In Rome, Italy’s largest trade union federation announced a nationwide
general strike for next Friday to protest the assault.

Demonstrators in Germany blocked the central train station, while in
Geneva, Switzerland, calls were launched for mobilizations condemning the
attack on the flotilla.
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