Carney speaks to Israeli president about 'appalling treatment' of flotilla activists

ground government minister deutschmark Carney called for an main(a) investigating into treatment of detained Gaza flotilla activists while speaking with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday.

Carney "reiterated that the appalling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable," according to a readout of the conversation from the Prime Minister's Office.

A dozen Canadians were among 420 individuals on 41 boats intercepted by Israel last week as they attempted to bring a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza amid Israel's restrictions.

The activists were forced to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads touching the floor, footage shows.

In the video, the activists appear to be inside a makeshift detention area at Israel's Port of Ashdod and on the deck of a ship.

Canada, 3 other countries summon Israeli ambassadors over video taunting flotilla activists

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared a video taunting and telling detained activists from a flotilla of boats that tried to get past Israel's blockade of Gaza they should remain in prison for a "long, long time."

Carney told Herzog that he "strongly condemned" Ben-Gvir's comments. Canada imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year over repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities.

Carney and Herzog discussed a number of other issues, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and antisemitism in Canada, the readout said.

Ben-Gvir's actions have drawn criticism from some members of his own government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said although Israel has every right to stop "provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters," the way that Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists "is not in line with Israel's values and norms."

Canada was one of a number of countries that summoned Israeli ambassadors over the treatment of the detained activists last week.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand also spoke with her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, about the treatment of the activists. Sa'ar first wrote a social media post about the call on Monday morning.

"I described the sole aim of the extremist, anti-Israel flotilla activists: provocation at the service of Hamas," Sa'ar wrote.

"Israel will continue to act in full accordance with international law and will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza."

Anand said she raised "Canada's serious concern with Israel's mistreatment of Canadian participants" in her own readout of the call posted later Monday afternoon.

"Denying Canadian citizens access to consular services while they were detained violates the Vienna Convention and must never happen again. Canada is providing Israeli authorities with evidence of this mistreatment," she wrote.

The Canadians were sent to Turkey after being detained. Nine of the 12 were expected to return to Canada over the weekend.

Aid groups say Israel has blocked assistance from reaching Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis has erupted following the extended war launched by Israel after the Hamas attack in October 2023.

The Israeli Defense Forces denies blocking aid, insisting it has only blocked assistance from organizations which refused to provide security information about their workers and partnerships. The IDF, in a statement on its website, said aid is entering Gaza at the highest rate since the latest war began, and accused Hamas of infiltrating some aid organizations.

Senior writer

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