Israel, US envoy reject Tucker Carlson’s claim he was detained and interrogated at airport

Popular American right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson briefly arrived in Israel on Wednesday to interview US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, later asserting that he was detained by Israeli security staff in a claim that was denied by both Israel and Huckabee.

After landing in the country, Carlson posted a picture from Ben Gurion Airport with the caption, “Greetings from Israel.” He departed without leaving the airport’s VIP terminal.

Carlson’s brief airport visit came after last week on his podcast, “The Tucker Carlson Show” — in which the host regularly blasts Israel in terms that many describe as evoking classic antisemitic tropes —  he accused Huckabee of not doing enough to ensure proper treatment of Christians in Israel, prompting Huckabee to respond on X, “Instead of talking about me, why don’t you come talk to me?”

Carlson later welcomed the invitation, and both figures posted that they were working to set up an interview.

In a separate clash last month, Huckabee slammed Carlson on X for comments he made last year denying that Hamas is a terrorist group and saying it “seems more like a political organization.”

Last year, in a highly controversial interview with Holocaust denier and avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes that exposed a growing rift on the American right over Jew hatred and anti-Zionism, Carlson claimed Huckabee and other Christian Zionist conservatives have been “seized by this brain virus.”

Related: Footage shows Tucker Carlson with arm around airport official, after he claimed he was detained

Israel initially considered barring Carlson from entering the country for the expected visit, but decided against the move so as not to cause a “diplomatic incident,” according to a Channel 13 news report.

Huckabee, who has known Carlson for over 30 years, had invited him to spend a few days in Israel, but Carlson declined, The Times of Israel learned.

Greetings from Israel. pic.twitter.com/1uBWvqBNST

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 18, 2026

“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson told the Daily Mail on Wednesday after his quick stop in the country. “It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”

The Israel Airports Authority said it “firmly rejects” the claim.

“Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated,” the IAA said in a statement shared by the Foreign Ministry. “Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.

“The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public.”

Huckabee chimed in.

“EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” he writes on X. “Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also responded to Carlson, who he denounced as “a chickenshit” and “a phony.”

“The guy who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years, landed today at Ben Gurion Airport, took a quick picture in the logistics zone, tweeted it to pretend he’s actually IN Israel (so he can later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel), didn’t even step foot in country, then made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security (didn’t happen), whined about it, got back into the private jet and flew off,” Bennett writes on X.

“Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!”

According to a friend of both Carlson and Huckabee who helped set up the interview and was present for it, the two engaged in a long, productive, and “emotional” conversation.

“Tucker asked a lot of questions that a lot of Americans are asking,” Melissa Francis, a former Fox and CNBC host, told The Times of Israel in Jerusalem after the interview.

“They came together and did a really good job of answering Tucker’s questions and the ambassador correcting the things that he felt like were wrong,” said Francis, who was in Israel for the 8th time since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that started the Gaza war.

“Huckabee called him out on all those things and challenged him and corrected him today,” she said.

The meeting between the leading Israel critic and an outspoken Christian Zionist was “professional,” said Francis.

“I think it was emotional,” she continued. “There are strong opinions, but I thought it was a great exchange of views.”

“The ambassador is so well-informed and is an ambassador, a pastor, a governor, and a television extraordinaire, so he’s more than capable dealing with it,” said Francis. “So it just it seemed like it was a great match.”

Francis said that she had dinner with Carlson in Florida a few weeks ago and she invited him to come along for a visit to Israel. He responded that US President Donald Trump has asked him to rein in the fight within the Republican Party over Israel, out of a concern that it was helping the Democratic Party.

According to Francis, Carlson said that he reached out to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrange a meeting in Israel, but never received a response.

Francis urged Huckabee to do the interview with Carlson. “I think we all realized that this infighting is terrible for Republicans,” she said.

Hours after she spoke, Carlson released a podcast episode titled “Israel’s purging of Christians from the Holy Land and the plot to keep Americans from noticing,” in which he interviews a Palestinian Christian from the West Bank and claims that US tax dollars are “funding the displacement and the murder of the oldest Christian community in the world.”

Israel’s Christian population has grown steadily since its founding, from around 34,000 in 1948 to over 184,000 today. Christians are the highest-performing religious community in Israel, with a higher percentage of Christian high schoolers achieving college-entry matriculation grades than their Jewish peers. At the same time, there have been incidents of harassment and vandalism by Jewish extremists in Israel, which were condemned by the country’s leadership but still persist.

The Christian population has indeed plummeted in the West Bank, with many leaving for economic reasons and educational opportunities, while others are concerned by the presence of armed Islamist groups like Hamas and discrimination in Palestinian society.  Israel’s policies in the West Bank affect Palestinian Christians as well as Muslims, exacerbating concerns about economic viability and personal safety.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.