Italy has formally asked the EU to consider sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister.

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said on Thursday he had written to Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, requesting that the bloc’s foreign ministers discuss punitive measures against Ben-Gvir at their next meeting in June.

The move follows the circulation of a video posted on Wednesday by Ben-Gvir in which detained Gaza Aid Flotilla activists – including many Italian citizens – are shown kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs while the Israeli minister appears to mock them.

The footage triggered a backlash across the Italian political spectrum and prompted a reaction from Giorgia Meloni’s government on Wednesday.

“On behalf of the Italian government, I have just formally asked the High Representative Kaja Kallas to include in the upcoming discussion of EU foreign ministers the adoption of sanctions against Israeli Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir,” Tajani said on social media.

Tajani accused Ben-Gvir of responsibility for “unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla”, and that the activists had been subjected to “harassment and humiliation, in violation of the most basic human rights”.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, distanced himself from Ben-Gvir’s handling of the incident.

“The way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible,” he said on Wednesday.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar issued an even sharper rebuke, accusing Ben-Gvir of damaging Israel’s international standing.

Israelis will vote next October in the country’s most divisive legislative election in decades, and the first since the 7 October attacks and the ensuing regional wars.

Last week, EU foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers linked to rising violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

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