Israeli citizen arrested in Beirut with UK passport deported to US – reports

Hebrew media says freelance journalist Joshua Tartakovsky freed from Lebanon following American pressure; Israeli authorities also said to have been involved in resolving incident

Joshua Tartakovsky's Facebook profile picture, uploaded on May 19, 2021. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Joshua Tartakovsky's Facebook profile picture, uploaded on May 19, 2021. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

An Israeli freelance journalist who was arrested in Lebanon in recent days after entering the country with a foreign passport has been freed and deported to the United States, according to Hebrew media reports on Thursday.

Joshua Tartakovsky — a 42-year-old Israeli citizen, born in the United States — had reportedly entered the country on a British passport with a group of other journalists some time in the last two weeks.

He was arrested when he was found to also be in possession of an Israeli passport.

Ynet reported on Thursday that Tartakovsky was freed following American pressure, while Israeli officials told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that they were aware of the incident and were dealing with it.

Tartakovsky does not appear to have published work in any major news publication.

It was unclear whether his entering Lebanon was connected to Israel’s war against the Hezbollah terror group, which escalated in September after almost a year of cross-border attacks. Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones on northern Israel one day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel.

A man runs for cover as smoke rises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Tartakovsky was reportedly detained in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

His behavior there had aroused suspicion, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar outlet, and he was taken for interrogation, at which point the Israeli passport was found in his possession.

It is illegal for Israelis to enter Lebanon under both Israeli and Lebanese law.

Following the reports on Wednesday, Israel’s National Security Council said in a statement, “We would like to sharpen the ban on entering these countries, as the issue appears in messages to the public on the NSC website and has been sharpened even recently around the holidays.”

Lazar Berman contributed to this report. 

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