Netanyahu: Ben Gvir treatment of flotilla activists 'not in line with Israel's values and norms'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's treatment of detained flotilla activists is "not in line with Israel's values and norms", but claimed that Israel has "every right" to intercept Gaza-bound flotillas.
Ben Gvir released a video in which seized flotilla members were being dragged and forced to kneel with their heads to the floor and hands zip-tied behind them as Ben Gvir taunted them.
Netanyahu added that he had "instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible".
A number of international activists who participated in previous Gaza aid flotillas have reported being subjected to abuse in Israeli detention.
Earlier this month, the UN rights office called for an investigation into "disturbing accounts of severe mistreatment" of two flotilla participants, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, who were detained by Israel.
Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinian rights in Israel, said the level of physical abuse faced by the pair in Israeli detention was tantamount to torture.