WASHINGTON, 20 Feb. - (ANA) - Israel critic Tucker Carlson has claimed he was detained at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport following an interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

 

Carlson, a right-wing US political commentator, told The Daily Mail that "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", he said, which follows his high-profile tour of the region, meeting Arab Christian leaders and visiting holy sites.

 

Carlson travelled to Israel for the interview after Huckabee responded on X to an episode of 'The Tucker Carlson Show' on X about Israel's treatment of Christians with "instead of talking ABOUT me, why don't you come talk TO me?".

 

Carlson took a photograph at Ben Gurion Airport with the caption "greetings from Israel".

 

Two sources told The Daily Mail that Israel had initially sought to bar Carlson's entry into the country, following recent criticisms of Israel's treatment of Palestinian Christians, which resulted in the US State Department's involvement to negotiate the matter.

 

Israel eventually let Carlson in to avoid a "diplomatic incident", according to Israel's Channel 13.

 

Carlson's account was quickly disputed by Israeli and US officials, although Israeli authorities have previously faced scrutiny over conflicting statements made in other high-profile incidents.

 

The US embassy denied that Carlson was detained or that he would be barred from the country, claiming that "Tucker received the same positive treatment of any visitors to Israel".

 

Israel's airport authority also issued a denial, saying it "firmly rejects" the claim, and insists that Carlson had stayed at the airport during the duration of his visit.

 

Carlson has become a vocal critic of Israel's war on Gaza and treatment of Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank, sparking a split in the Republican Party between pro-Israel and anti-Israel supporters, as well as pundits and political figures that make up Trump's MAGA coalition.

 

His allegation is not the first time Israel has faced claims of politically motivated questioning or detention at Ben Gurion Airport.

 

Over the years, authors, activists and civil society figures have reported being detained, interrogated or denied entry over alleged anti-Israel views, with Israeli authorities often describing the encounters as "routine security screening" or "brief questioning".

 

In 2018, Iranian-American author Reza Aslan said he was detained and threatened during questioning at a border crossing, allegations Israel's Shin Bet security service rejected as "unfounded".

 

That same year, Israeli rights groups documented cases of activists being stopped at Ben Gurion and released without formal charges or written explanations.

 

Israel has also barred entry to critics, including US congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar in 2019 over their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/20 February 2026 - - -