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Israeli ‘illegally’ enters Lebanon, arrested in Beirut, identified by Hezbollah paper

The case has been handed over to Lebanon’s judiciary, which will decide Tartakovsky’s fate.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A dual Israel-British citizen and freelance journalist with ties to the US was arrested in Lebanon.

A Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper, Al Akhbar, identified him as Joshua Tartakovsky.

The report says he entered Beirut a few weeks ago along with a group of other journalists covering the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.

The reason for the arrest has not yet been announced, although its worth noting that he traveled to Lebanon with a British passport and also was carrying an Israeli identity card.

According to Lebanese law, it is illegal for Israelis to enter the country.

Tartakovsky had been in southern Lebanon reporting on airstrikes in the area.

The Arab news outlet said, “He entered Lebanon as part of a group of foreign journalists who arrived in Beirut to cover the ongoing events in Lebanon and who visit the southern suburb and certain areas on a daily basis under the pretext of inspecting the destruction.”

The case has been handed over to Lebanon’s judiciary, which will decide Tartakovsky’s fate.

One source told Arab News, “There is a strong inclination to deport the detained journalist without awaiting any extradition request. In this case, he would be handed over to the British embassy, which would facilitate his deportation from Lebanon.”

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Tartakovsky describes himself as a “freelance journalist” and studied at Brown University and the London School of Economics.

He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family, but currently, has been associated with left-wing causes.

Despite having a background of IDF service with the rank of First Sergeant, more recently, Tartakovsky has been allied to anti-Israel causes.

Tartakovsky has contributed to “Zo Haderech,” a website associated with Israel’s far-left and anti-Zionist movements.

The detention of Tartakovsky happened after Lebanon detained German war correspondent Paul Ronzheimer after he reported on the conflict with Lebanon with Israeli TV.