Ghana deports three Israelis in retaliatory move
Ghana has deported three Israeli nationals in protest of what it described as the “ill treatment and unjustified deportation” of travelers from the West African country by authorities in Tel Aviv earlier this week.
Earlier Wednesday, Ghana’s Foreign Ministry reported that seven Ghanaian nationals, including four members of a parliamentary delegation attending a cybersecurity conference in Tel Aviv, were detained at Ben Gurion Airport on December 7 “without justifiable cause.”
“They were only released after more than five hours of strenuous diplomatic intervention. The remaining three were deported on the next available flight,” it said.
The ministry denounced the action as “inhumane and traumatic treatment” and unfair targeting of Ghanaian travelers by Israeli authorities, adding that it was weighing reciprocal measures.
“This condemnable conduct by Israeli authorities is extremely provocative, unacceptable, and inconsistent with our friendly historical relations,” it noted.
Ghana and Israel first established ties in the late 1950s, severed relations after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and restored them in the mid-1990s. In September 2011, Israel reopened its embassy in Accra after 38 years of stalled relations.
The Ghanaian authorities have summoned a senior embassy official in the absence of the ambassador to convey their “displeasure in the strongest possible terms.”
In a separate statement, the Foreign Ministry said both governments had agreed to seek an “amicable resolution,” but still proceeded to announce the denial of entry to the three Israeli nationals. It said the step was necessary to safeguard the dignity of Ghanaian travelers.
“Ghana deeply values our relations with all friendly countries and expects our citizens to be treated with dignity and respect in much the same way as other governments expect Ghana to treat their nationals,” according to the statement shared by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
West Jerusalem has yet to release any official statement addressing Ghana’s claims.
