Conservative American political activist and commentator Tucker Carlson on Wednesday claimed that he was detained by Israeli security staff at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, but his claim seems to have fallen flat.
Carlson, who was in Israel to interview US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, told the Daily Mail that he had been detained.
“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. It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country,” the American conservative activist was quoted as saying.
However, Carlson’s claim has been rejected by both Israeli and US authorities.
What authorities said about Tucker Carlson’s claims
Commenting on the alleged incident, the Israel Airports Authority said it “firmly rejects” Carlson’s claims.
“Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated. Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers,” read a statement by the IAA, shared by the Israeli foreign ministry.
“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,” the statement added, as per Times of Israel.
The US Embassy too was unsympathetic to Carlson’s claims.
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Israel rejected the political activist’s claims, telling Daily Mail that Carlson “received the same passport control questions that countless visitors to Israel including Ambassador Huckabee and other diplomats receive as part of normal entrance and exit from Israel.”
“It is not accurate that Israel was only going to let Tucker into the country for the interview,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Mail.
“The only engagement the Embassy had with Israel about his [Carlson’s] The visit was to coordinate with his private plane landing as part of facilitating a seamless visit. It was Tucker who chose to only come into the country for a few hours and depart. And Tucker received the same positive treatment of any visitors to Israel,” the spokes person further said.
With Carlson’s claims going viral and the news spreading, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee also joined in on the conversation.
“EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa,” wrote the US Ambassador on X.
At the time of writing, Carlson had not yet responded to authorities rejecting his claims.
