Presenter Tucker Carlson claims Israel detained him after interview with US ambassador

A new political row has erupted after conservative US broadcaster Tucker Carlson accused Israeli authorities of detaining him at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday following an interview with the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. 

Israeli officials and the US embassy in Tel Aviv swiftly rejected the claim, describing the incident as “routine procedures”.

Carlson, who has been sharply critical of Israel over its war in Gaza and what he describes as the mistreatment of Christians, said individuals identifying themselves as airport security officers confiscated his passport and those of his team. He added that the executive producer of his programme was taken to a side room and questioned about the content of his discussion with the ambassador.

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“It was bizarre,” Carlson said. They “took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about.” “We are now out of the country.” 

Huckabee, a strong supporter of Israel, denied that Carlson had been detained. He said all travellers are subject to security screening when entering or leaving Israel, “even me with a diplomatic passport”.

The US embassy also said the matter involved standard questioning only. It added that its role was limited to coordinating the landing of Carlson’s private aircraft and stressed that he “received the same positive treatment as any visitor”.

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