Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he is appalled and shocked at the manner in which activists on board an aid flotilla to Gaza have been treated by the Israeli authorities.
Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly, is among at least 12 Irish citizens on board the flotilla that were detained by Israel, according to organisers.
Hundreds more participants from other countries have also been detained.
Speaking in Galway, Mr Martin said it was no longer tenable that it could be "business as usual" with Israel, given what he described as its scant regard for European citizens.
He was responding to footage circulated online which shows Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir walking among some of the detainees and saying they should remain in prison for a long time.
The footage shows some people kneeling on the ground in tightly packed groups with their hands tied behind their backs. The footage also shows Mr Ben-Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag amongst the detained activists.
Mr Martin said the way the activists had been heckled, mocked and insulted, as well as how they were detained, with hands tied behind their backs, was shocking.
He said he shared the absolute disgust expressed by many other European countries at what had transpired and that he intended to raise the matter further with his EU counterparts.
Watch: Taoiseach criticises 'disgusting' treatment of activists by Israel
The Taoiseach went on to describe footage, in which an Irish female activist is forcibly pushed to the ground, after stating "free, free Palestine," as disgusting and disgraceful behaviour, which was a blight on the Israeli government.
He said the activities of the Israeli forces were completely out of step with international norms.
Mr Martin said the right to protest was a sacred one in any democracy and to have people "essentially abducted by the Israeli government on the high seas", before they were transferred to detention locations was deeply concerning.
He said the Government's immediate objective was to have Irish citizens released as quickly as possible.
But he said the Irish Ambassador to Israel and consular officials had not yet had sight or access to the people in question.
McEntee 'appalled' by video
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said that the video footage is another iteration of the appalling behaviour of the Israeli government.
"It's utterly appalling, we are looking at a minister of the Israeli government taunting and goading Irish citizens and citizens from other countries, so I'm appalled by that," she said.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Ms McEntee said that she has engaged directly with the Israeli authorities demanding that the citizens "are treated with respect".
She said that she has also demanded access to the citizens in order to talk to them directly which, she said, they have been prevented from doing so.
Ms McEntee said that Ireland's ambassador on the ground has been engaging directly with the Israeli authorities since the first of the flotilla's were intercepted.
She said that a message has been relayed to Israeli authorities very clearly but currently it is unclear as to how many Irish citizens are at sea and are on Israeli land.
"We want to ensure their immediate release and we want to ensure that they are kept safe.
"So these have been relayed very clearly to the Israeli authorities for the last number of days and we will continue to engage with them," the minister said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Mr Ben-Gvir over his handling of the detained activists, adding that he had ordered their deportation.
"The way 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 (activists) as soon as possible," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
Former Fine Gael minister Alan Shatter has said Mr Ben-Gvir "should be unceremoniously dismissed from Israel's cabinet and ministerial office."
In a post on social media, he said he has written various articles criticising the Israeli ministers' "unfitness for government", adding that today’s video "starkly illustrates that".
Mr Shatter, who is a board member of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, said there should be a general election in Israel "as early as possible".
Ben Gvir is a total disgrace. I have written various articles criticising his unfitness for government & his own behaviour & post today starkly illustrates that. It is just one of the many reasons why he should be unceremoniously dismissed from Israel's cabinet & ministerial… https://t.co/isxOz8MifR
— Alan Shatter (@Alan__Shatter) May 20, 2026
All boats intercepted
Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while rights group Adalah said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.
"Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will," Adalah said.
"These acts are a direct extension of Israel's policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza."
The organisers of the aid flotilla confirmed that all boats had been intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean with all 428 participants forcibly detained by Israel.
Israel's foreign ministry said the activists had been transferred to Israeli vessels and were en route to Israel.
Read more: Latest Middle East stories
It comes after Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels in an aid flotilla sailing towards Gaza yesterday, according to video footage and flotilla organisers.
The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to Gaza after earlier missions were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Video from the flotilla's livestream showed soldiers firing shots at two of the boats. The type of ammunition fired was not clear.
Israel said no live ammunition was used and there were no casualties, claiming non-lethal means were employed as a warning.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said that all 50 boats in the flotilla had been intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, with 428 participants from more than 40 countries forcibly detained, including 78 Turks.
Family of Irish activist unaware of his whereabouts
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Aisling Cullen, whose brother Mikey was one of 14 Irish people onboard the flotilla headed to Gaza and who was forcibly detained by Israel, said she does not know where her brother is now.
"It was only when we started hearing the shots and Mikey's live video, the rounds just completely cut out," she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"Then the flotilla website just completely cut out like my mom was ringing DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs).
"They had no idea what had happened to him yet. And it just felt surreal. It was like watching a scene out of a movie, how this could be happening in international waters to humanitarian activists."
Ms Cullen said the Department of Foreign Affairs has been really helpful, but as of last night it did not know where Mikey was.
"They hadn't got a full report yet or anyone on his boat.
"But the people that were taken the day before him... they haven't been able to make contact with them or see individually, but they know that they're being brought to a port in Israel," she said.
Additional reporting AFP
