Lebanese authorities arrested a journalist holds an Israeli passport in the southern suburb of Beirut on suspicion of espionage

The Israeli Army Radio quoted a security source as saying that the security services in Lebanon arrested an Israeli citizen who entered the country as a journalist, confirming that he holds American and British passports.

The Israeli media rushed to deny that the detainee Joshua Tartakovsky was working as a spy for the Mossad or that he had entered Lebanese territory on behalf of the Israeli intelligence services to spy on Hezbollah.

There has been no official response from the Israeli government, but the National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s Office said, “We call on Israelis to abide by the travel ban to the countries published on our website,” stressing that the list of bans had recently been tightened during the Jewish holiday period.

On this regard, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Joshua Tartakovsky, (42), a former Haredi Jew from Jerusalem, was arrested Tuesday in the southern suburbs of Beirut after entering Lebanon two weeks ago as an “investigative journalist”.

The Israeli newspaper added that Tartakovsky’s behavior raised suspicions among the Lebanese, and after his arrest, investigators found an Israeli passport in his possession.

However, Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that Tartakovsky published only two articles this year in the weekly magazine “Zo HaDerech” (This Way) published by the Israeli Communist Party.

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a source close to the party as saying that he sent the articles in question while he was in the United States and wasn’t met by any of the magazine’s or party’s employees.

Tartakovsky’s social media accounts revealed that this was not the first time he had visited Beirut.

According to the details of his arrest, Tartakovsky was arrested in the southern suburb on suspicion of espionage.

It’s worth noting that Tartakovsky served in the Israeli army, grew up in an extremist Haredi family, wrote articles on war issues, and opposed the compulsory conscription of Haredim into the army.

According to Israeli media, Tartakovsky’s family has appealed to authorities in Washington and London to help secure his release.