DUBLIN(National Times)- Ireland announced on Friday it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, slamming their behaviour towards pro-Palestinian activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan \u201chas instructed immigration officers to refuse entry to Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should they seek to enter the state\u201d, a justice ministry statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the far-right minister Ben Gvir mocked activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month, Irish taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin said Ireland would act to bar entry of Israeli officials seen as fomenting conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firebrand Ben Gvir became a minister in 2022, after an alliance with the far-right Religious Zionist party of Bezalel Smotrich came third in legislative elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France opens probe over treatment of flotilla activists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, Ben Gvir and Smotrich form a cornerstone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing coalition government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two ministers\u2019 behaviour \u201cnot just in the context of the flotilla, but their consistent statements\u2026 essentially amount to a desire to see the elimination of Palestinians from Palestine\u201d, Martin told reporters during a summit in Montenegro on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn my view, their behaviour justifies sanctions at the EU level as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, France also banned Ben Gvir from entry over his conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain barred the two from entry in June last year and other countries have followed, including Spain and Slovenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel\u2019s bombardment of Gaza and recognised the Palestinian state in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after, Israel\u2019s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of its Dublin embassy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flotilla activists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France has opened an investigation into Israel\u2019s treatment of French activists who took part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a prosecutor\u2019s office said on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The probe was opened at the government\u2019s request, the national counterterrorism prosecutor\u2019s office (PNAT) said, after activists accused Israeli authorities of mistreatment during their detention last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel detained more than 430 activists from countries around the world after intercepting them in international waters on May 18 as they made the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation after he posted a video mocking the flotilla activists while they were bound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France banned Ben Gvir from entry over the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several French activists narrated a violent and humiliating ordeal when eight of them returned home on May 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two of the more than 30 French persons who were on board the flotilla were still in hospital in Turkiye, they told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One returnee described a soldier slapping her in a dark container, and being terrified that she would be raped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBLIN(National Times)- Ireland announced on Friday it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, slamming their behaviour towards pro-Palestinian activists. Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan \u201chas instructed immigration officers to refuse entry to Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should they seek to enter the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n