France refers Gaza flotilla violence allegations to prosecutor

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Friday that he has referred allegations of violence against French nationals who were part of a Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla to the French public prosecutor, reported Xinhua. Barrot told France Inter radio that he took action after receiving a report from France's consul general in Türkiye, which detailed sexual violence, exposure to cold, beatings, and repeated humiliation against French citizens after Israel intercepted the flotilla. On May 23, Barrot announced that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had been banned from entering France effective immediately, noting that the decision followed Ben-Gvir's unacceptable actions toward French and European citizens aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla. Hundreds of members from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were brought to Israel's Ashdod Port on May 20, as Ben-Gvir released a video showing some of them shackled and forced to the ground. In the video, released by Ben-Gvir on his social media channels, dozens of activists are shown kneeling on the floor, bent forward with their heads down and hands bound behind their backs with zip ties, as the Israeli national anthem is played loudly over speakers. Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on May 21 that all the activists had been deported, adding that the country would not permit any breach of what it described as the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.