Ghana says Israel apologised after deportation of its citizens

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzieto Ablako, said on Thursday that Israel has formally apologised for the deportation of three Ghanaian citizens, following a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Speaking in a radio interview, Ablako said Ghana had made its position clear to the Israeli authorities, stressing that Accra would not tolerate the unfair treatment of its citizens abroad.

“The Israeli authorities apologised for what happened and asked for de-escalation,” Ablako said. “We told them clearly: if they deport ten Ghanaians, we will deport ten Israelis. If they deport twenty, we will deport twenty. We will never accept this.”

The minister described the justifications offered by Israel for the deportations as “baseless”.

The dispute escalated on Wednesday after Ghana deported three Israeli nationals in response to Israel’s treatment of Ghanaian citizens at Ben Gurion Airport. According to Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seven Ghanaians were detained by Israeli authorities without justification, including four members of a Ghanaian parliamentary delegation travelling to Tel Aviv to attend an international cybersecurity conference.

Following diplomatic contacts, Israeli authorities released the four parliamentarians but proceeded to deport the three remaining Ghanaian citizens. Ghana then responded by deporting three Israelis who had arrived in the country.