Israel far-right minister condemned over taunting of activists

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The Israeli government has deported hundreds of activists who tried to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza on a flotilla. This may be an attempt to calm international outrage over a video of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right security minister, taunting the activists while they were handcuffed and kneeling on the ground. He told them in Hebrew: “Welcome to Israel. We are the landlords.” His actions drew rare criticism from Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they were “not in line with Israel’s values”. Several countries have summoned ambassadors in response to the treatment of the activists. Ben-Gvir, for his part, probably wanted to appeal to his domestic base. But diplomatically his behaviour could be hugely damaging.