Ghana deports three Israelis in retaliation for alleged ‘inhumane treatment’ of nationals at Ben Gurion

Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

The Ghana national flag, center, flies in front of the Supreme Court building in the city of Accra, Ghana, October 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Christian Thompson)
The Ghana national flag, center, flies in front of the Supreme Court building in the city of Accra, Ghana, October 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Christian Thompson)

Three Israelis were deported by Ghana yesterday in a reciprocal action over alleged mistreatment by Israel of a group of Ghanaian citizens at Ben Gurion International Airport earlier this week.

“The Government of Ghana has been compelled to activate appropriate reciprocal action by deporting three Israelis who arrived in Ghana earlier today following the ill-treatment and unwarranted deportation of three Ghanaians,” Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced yesterday.

After officials from Israel’s embassy in Accra were summoned over the incident, “Both Governments have now agreed to an amicable resolution,” he added.

In an earlier statement from Ghana’s foreign ministry on Wednesday, Accra said that Ghanaian travellers had been “deliberately targeted and subjected to inhumane and traumatic treatment” at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, warning that the government was “considering appropriate reciprocal action.”

The statement said that seven Ghanaian travelers to Israel were detained for over five hours “without justifiable cause,” including four members of a parliamentary delegation that planned to attend Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week 2025 conference. The remaining three were deported on the next available flight and have since arrived in Ghana, the statement said.

Israel has not officially commented on the issue, and the Foreign Ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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