Taoiseach 'appalled' by video of Israeli security minister Ben-Gvir taunting bound flotilla activists
The Taoiseach has condemned video footage of illegally detained participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla - which includes Irish citizens - being taunted by Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Videos released on Wednesday by Itamar Ben-Gvir showed him walking among some of the approximately 430 detained activists flanked by police and soldiers as he waved a large Israeli flag and told them “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords.” The video shows one handcuffed activist, who shouted “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walked past, being pushed to the ground by security personnel.Activists can be seen with their hands tied behind their back kneeling with their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area at Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.In a second video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” while appealing to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them.“I say to prime minister Netanyahu, give them to me for a long, long time, give them to us for the terrorist prisons, that’s what it should look like,” Ben-Gvir said.Micheál Martin said he was "appalled at the shocking behaviour of Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir towards illegally detained members of the Sumud Flotilla".Mr Martin described the Israeli government’s actions as being "in breach of international law".“It’s disgraceful, it’s a blight on the Israeli Government and other European leaders are likewise calling this out,” Mr Martin said.“I will, at European Union level, seek to get a broader agreement particularly in terms of the European Union-Israeli Association Agreement. It is no longer tenable that it would be business as usual with Israel, given its scant regard for European Union citizens.” Mr Martin said the right to protest was a “sacred one” within a democracy.“The flotilla was in international waters and people were essentially abducted by the Israeli Government on the high seas, have been brought to detention locations.“Our immediate objective is to get Irish citizens released as quickly as possible.”Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. File Picture: AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, PoolEarlier Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee demanded the "immediate release" of the 14 Irish participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla, saying the Israeli authorities were treating those detained without "appropriate dignity or respect." Among the Irish detainees are activists Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly, and Mikey Cullen, a secondary school teacher. ככה אנחנו מקבלים את תומכי הטרורWelcome to Israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/7Hf8cAg7fC— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 20, 2026
Ms McEntee said she was "appalled and shocked" by the footage. "At my instruction, Ireland’s Ambassador to Israel has demanded immediate assurances that the welfare and well-being of all Irish citizens is safeguarded and that they are afforded all the protections that they are entitled to under international law. I have also demanded their immediate release," she said in a statement. "I can assure their families and loved ones that our citizens will be afforded all appropriate consular assistance and support as soon as we secure access to them," Ms McEntee added. The videos have also drawn criticism from other members of the Israeli government.In response to the video, Israeli's foreign affairs minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned Mr Ben-Gvir's actions, saying it caused "harm" to their state in "this disgraceful display and not for the first time." "You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people - from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others," Mr Sa'ar said. "No, you are not the face of Israel," he added.'He's a teacher, not a soldier' It comes as the sister of one of the Irish activists detained by Israeli forces on Tuesday, when their flotilla en route to Gaza was intercepted, has told of how their family was watching the incident as it was live-streamed.Aisling Cullen, sister of secondary school teacher Mikey Cullen, said the family had been tracking Mikey’s journey when they saw the Israeli navy fire shots before the live feed ceased.Ms Cullen said that prior to that, the family had received a text from Mikey saying “we might be next” as they knew the Israeli navy was an hour away.After hearing the shots and when the live feed ceased, the Cullen family contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs.“They had no idea what had happened to him yet, and it just felt surreal; it was like watching a scene out of a movie. How this could be happening in international waters to humanitarian activists," she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Wednesday. Ms Cullen said the Israeli navy appeared not to care anymore, and their interceptions were becoming more and more aggressive. The family did not know where Mr Cullen was now.“The Department of Foreign Affairs have been ringing, and they've been really good and really helpful, but as of last night, they didn't know where he was, they hadn't got a full report yet on him or anyone on his boat, or of the people that were taken the day before," she said. The family remained uncertain if the shots they heard on the live stream were rubber bullets or live ammunition. Her brother was not a soldier, she said. “He was in international waters, he's a humanitarian, he's a secondary school teacher, he's not a soldier, he was going to help people.” Gaza flotilla activists and supporters, monitoring video transmissions from the ships of the aid flotilla headed for Gaza, watch the interception in international waters of one of the boats. Picture: Angelos TsatsisWhen asked if the family was satisfied with the response of the Irish government, Cullen said the reason her brother had joined the flotilla was because of the lack of response of “the whole world” to what was happening in Gaza.While what was happening to her brother and other people on the flotilla was frightening, what was happening to children and the people of Gaza on a daily basis was of much more concern, she said.“He couldn't sit around with the injustice of it," Ms Cullen added.
Additional reporting: Associated Press
