A senior Israeli lawmaker on Wednesday said the Iraqi Shiite militia group that kidnapped Israeli citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov four months ago, and is still holding hostage, knew she was Israeli, and that the State of Israel was working for her return home.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) revealed earlier that Tsurkov, an Israeli and Russian citizen, who went missing in Iraq four months ago, was alive and being held hostage by the Shiite militia group Kataib Hezbollah.
An Iraqi intelligence source told AFP that Tsurkov was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad “at the beginning of Ramadan,” the Muslim fasting month which this year began on March 23.
In Baghdad, she focused on pro-Iran factions and the movement of Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr as part of her research on the region, according to several journalists who had met her. Tsurkov was abducted as she was leaving a cafe in the Iraqi capital’s Karrada neighborhood, the Iraqi intelligence source said.
“Iraq is defined as an enemy state. Israeli law prohibits Israeli citizens from entering there, even those who have another foreign citizenship,” the Israeli official continued.
“As far as [Israel] is concerned, she is a citizen in distress, and every effort will be made to take care of her.”
“She is not a Mossad agent. Elizabeth is an innocent Israeli citizen, who came on an academic mission in Iraq. She has nothing to do with Israeli officials.”
According to the PMO’s statement, Tsurkov “is still alive, and we see Iraq as responsible for her fate and safety.”
It added that Tsurkov is “an academic woman who visited Iraq, using her Russian passport, and on her own initiative for a doctoral thesis and academic research on behalf of Princeton University in the United States.”
“The incident is being handled by the relevant authorities in the State of Israel, with concern for the safety and well-being of Elizabeth Tsurkov.”
Tsurkov, an avid Twitter user, last tweeted four months ago in December, with a link to her research on Turkey’s proxies in Syria.
Following reports of her situation, the Gush Etzion Regional Council stated that Tsurkov was a resident of Kfar Eldad in the West Bank.
“The professional bodies of the community and the regional council are assisting the family. We are learning about the details of the incident and are asking the public to pray for Elizabeth’s safe and speedy release,” said Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor Shlomo Ne’eman.
Kataib Hezbollah is an Iraqi-based group part of the Shiite coalition there. Their commander was killed alongside Qassem Soleimani in 2020, but they are a separate group from the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terror movement. –i24 News
Hate to say it but stupid is stupid just ask Daniel Pearl hy”d. stop thinking you have immunity
Good point
Of course it was against Jewish law, Israeli law and common sense to go there, however, she is a Jewish woman in a horrific position and we need to get her out of there. She must be suffering terribly and likely has changed her views by this time. And also, this story should help dissuade others from making the same mistake.
I hope while she is there she is busy doing t’shuva. From her Twitter posts etc, she’s not exactly what we call a lover of our people. More like a self-hater.
Look her up. She’s a left wing Palestinian sympathizer!
Ha, let them keep her!