The attention of Ghanaians was drawn to reports of the deportation of three Ghanaian citizens and the alleged mistreatment of other Ghanaians at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport recently.

This was brought to light by the government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which condemned the incident.

In response, the government has also taken drastic action against the State of Israel.

Ghana deports three Israelis after ill-treatment and unjustified deportation of citizens

Here’s what GhanaWeb knows so far about the events that sparked a response from the Ghanaian government.

Alleged ill treatment

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, seven Ghanaians were detained by Israeli authorities on Sunday, December 7, 2025, without any valid reason at the entry port of Ben Gurion International Airport.

Four of them were members of a parliamentary delegation travelling to Tel Aviv to attend the Annual International Cybersecurity Conference.

The minister stated that the detained Ghanaians were released after spending more than five hours in detention.

“The government has observed with great concern that since Sunday, 7th December 2025, Ghanaian travellers have been deliberately targeted and subjected to inhumane and traumatic treatment.

“On the day in issue, seven (7) Ghanaian travellers to Israel were detained at the Ben Gurion International Airport without justifiable cause. The detained included four (4) members of a Parliamentary delegation taking part in the ongoing Annual International Cybersecurity Conference in Tel Aviv. They were only released after more than five hours of strenuous diplomatic intervention,” Ablakwa said.

Deportation of Ghanaian nationals

The minister also disclosed that despite diplomatic interventions, three Ghanaians were deported to Ghana.

“The remaining three (3) were deported on the next available flight and have since arrived in Ghana,” the minister disclosed.

Government’s condemnation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mince words, expressing its strong displeasure at the actions of the Israeli authorities.

It described the act as 'extremely provocative, unacceptable and inconsistent with our friendly historical relations.'

“The government of Ghana considers the actions of the Israeli authorities as unfairly targeting Ghanaian travellers and accordingly conveys its strong reservations against the humiliating treatment of our citizens at the Ben Gurion International Airport… This condemnable conduct by Israeli authorities is extremely provocative, unacceptable and inconsistent with our friendly historical relations,” the statement continued.

Govt refutes Israel’s justification

The Ghanaian government also rejected the justifications from the Israeli authorities, who had claimed that the Ghanaian Embassy had been uncooperative, leading to the deportation.

“Following our enquiries, we find the justification provided by the Israeli Government being an alleged non-cooperation of our Embassy in the deportation of Ghanaians in Israeli custody as totally untenable as the facts confirm that our mission in Tel Aviv has been responsive and compliant with international law,” it added.

Israeli officials summoned

Subsequently, officials from the Israeli Embassy in Accra were summoned, with Ghana threatening to take reciprocal action.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will this morning summon officials of the Israeli Embassy in Accra to convey our displeasure in the strongest possible terms. Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana is considering appropriate reciprocal action,” they stated.

Ghana reciprocates

Following on its threat, the government of Ghana deported three Israeli nationals who arrived in Accra earlier on December 10, 2025.

Ablakwa announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, explaining that Ghana had no choice but to take reciprocal action after its citizens were unfairly targeted and humiliated.

“Following the ill-treatment and unjustified deportation of three Ghanaian nationals by Israeli authorities, the government of Ghana has been compelled to retaliate by deporting three (3) Israelis who arrived in Ghana earlier today.

"The Chargé d' Affaires ad Interim of the Embassy of the State of Israel was promptly summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, considering that the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana is currently out of the jurisdiction. Both governments have agreed to resolve the matter amicably," they said.

Government fumes at Israel over 'inhumane' treatment of Ghanaian travellers

Also, they explained that; "The government of Ghana will continue to safeguard the dignity of its nationals and also that of other nationals. 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,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, the Israeli government had not yet responded to the deportation of its nationals.

MAG/AE

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