The French national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for "torture" and "war crimes", following a report from the government on the way in which French people from the Gaza flotilla were treated by the Israeli authorities.
Published on: 05/06/2026 - 16:41 Modified on: 05/06/2026 - 16:58
Israeli authorities suspected of “torture” and “war crimes”. An investigation in this direction was opened on Friday June 5 in Paris, following a report from the government on the way in which French people from the Gaza flotilla were treated by the authorities of the Hebrew State, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat).
Asked by AFP, the Pnat specified that it had entrusted this preliminary investigation opened for “torture, within the meaning of the New York convention of December 10, 1984” and “war crimes” to the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes.
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International outcry
The report to French justice was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.
At the end of May, the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, caused an outcry within his government and abroad by publishing a video of activists from a new "flotilla for Gaza" kneeling with their hands tied, after their arrest at sea.
Read also Prisoners humiliated, noose exhibited: Ben Gvir, Israeli minister of permanent excess
Israeli forces had boarded the fifty boats of this flotilla off the coast of Cyprus and its approximately 430 crew members had been taken by force to Israel, then detained in Ktziot prison (south), according to the Israeli human rights organization Adalah, which ensures their legal representation and defense.
These activists, including 37 French nationals, have since "all been expelled", according to the Israeli authorities.
With AFP
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