Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, raise a large Israeli flag during a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new settlement on Mount Tarousa, near the city of Dura, west of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on June 16, 2026. (Credit: Hazem Bader/AFP)
On May 20, images and screams of Israeli police beating Western activists from the Gaza flotilla, who were forced to crawl on all fours and dragged along the ground as a woman’s piercing cries beg police to loosen her handcuffs, spread around the world. Present on the scene, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told his officers: "Don’t let these screams distract you." And he said to the activists: "Welcome to Israel. We are the owners!" The next day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scolded his minister, stating he had shown a face of Israel that is "not in line with its values and standards." Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar argued Ben-Gvir "does not represent Israel." More on the topic The flotilla, Ben Gvir, and the crossroads of Israeli hypocrisies To this day, Ben-Gvir is still police...
On May 20, images and screams of Israeli police beating Western activists from the Gaza flotilla, who were forced to crawl on all fours and dragged along the ground as a woman’s piercing cries beg police to loosen her handcuffs, spread around the world. Present on the scene, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told his officers: "Don’t let these screams distract you." And he said to the activists: "Welcome to Israel. We are the owners!" The next day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scolded his minister, stating he had shown a face of Israel that is "not in line with its values and standards." Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar argued Ben-Gvir "does not represent Israel." More on the topic The flotilla, Ben Gvir, and the crossroads of Israeli hypocrisies To this day, Ben-Gvir is still...
