Netanyahu and Saar Slam Ben Gvir Over Controversial Flotilla Video

A sharp public rupture broke out within Israel's cabinet Wednesday after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's humiliation video of detained flotilla activists triggered an international firestorm, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar both publicly condemning their own colleague.

The split lays bare a growing fracture inside the Israeli government between ministers focused on managing Israel's international standing and Ben Gvir, who appears to have calculated that the more explosive the imagery, the better his electoral prospects.

Netanyahu Draws the Line

Netanyahu issued a rare public rebuke of his own minister: "Israel has the full right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terror supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza. However, the manner in which Minister Ben Gvir treated the flotilla activists is not in line with the values and norms of the State of Israel. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as quickly as possible."

Sa'ar Goes Further

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar was more scathing. "You knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display, and not for the first time," Sa'ar said in a statement directed at Ben Gvir. "You have undone tremendous, professional and successful efforts made by so many people, from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others." Sa'ar told Ben Gvir bluntly: "You are not the face of Israel."

Officials in the diplomatic establishment said that international criticism over the flotilla interception itself had been expected and was being managed, but that the footage Ben Gvir personally released from the detention facility completely changed the situation and triggered a wave of harsh reactions from Europe.

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot also weighed in, accusing Ben Gvir of "deliberately harming Israel's image around the world in order to collect likes on social media" and saying "a prime minister who sees Israel's best interests should have fired him a long time ago."

Ben Gvir Fires Back

Ben Gvir was unapologetic. "There are those in the government who still have not understood how supporters of terrorism should be treated," he said in response to Sa'ar. "Israel's foreign minister is expected to understand that Israel has stopped being a punching bag. Whoever comes to our territory to support terrorism and identify with Hamas will get what's coming to them and we will not turn the other cheek." X

The International Fallout

The damage Sa'ar warned about arrived swiftly. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani issued a joint statement declaring Ben Gvir's footage "unacceptable" and summoning the Israeli ambassador to demand an apology for "the treatment of protesters that violates their human dignity."

South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung accused Israel of "kidnapping" Korean citizens detained on the flotilla, while protests erupted outside the European Parliament in Brussels and in cities across Europe.

The Bigger Picture

The episode encapsulates a tension that has run through Israel's government since Ben Gvir rejoined the coalition: between ministers who view the flotilla as a manageable diplomatic challenge requiring careful, professional handling, and a National Security Minister who sees every confrontation as a campaign opportunity ahead of elections, regardless of the cost to Israel's standing abroad.

With the Knesset moving Wednesday toward a dissolution vote, Ben Gvir's calculation appears straightforwardly electoral. The ICC prosecutor's office is also separately examining potential arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials including Ben Gvir on suspicion of war crimes, a context that makes Wednesday's images considerably more than a domestic political dispute.