France urges EU sanctions after incident involving Gaza-bound flotilla members
‘It is essential to go further with sanction,’ prime minister says
France demanded stronger EU sanctions Tuesday following violence against members of a Gaza-bound flotilla, with a senior minister saying action is necessary within the bloc’s framework.
“It is essential to go further with sanctions in the framework of the European Union,” Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu told the National Assembly. “It is unthinkable for a country like France not to respond using the tools of the rule of law and in full respect of international law.”
“The fact that some do not respect it does not mean that we, in turn, should fail to respect it,” he noted.
The Israeli army attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian flotilla last Monday in international waters. Live broadcasts from the flotilla showed Israeli naval forces intercepting each vessel.
The demand for sanctions follows the circulation of footage that showed Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key ruling coalition partner of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, walking among detained activists who were kneeling in tightly packed formations with their hands tied behind their backs.
Ben-Gvir appears in the footage to wave an Israeli flag and taunt detainees.
The flotilla, consisting of more than 50 boats, set sail last Thursday from the Turkish Mediterranean district of Marmaris in a renewed attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since the summer of 2007.
The flotilla said the mission included 426 participants, including 96 Turkish activists and participants from 39 other countries, among them Germany, the US, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, France, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia, Oman, and New Zealand.
On April 29, Israeli forces attacked another aid mission bound for Gaza off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.
Organizers said Israeli forces intercepted boats carrying activists in international waters, detained 177 activists, and mistreated them about 600 nautical miles from Gaza -- miles away from Greek territorial waters.
