Dozens of Israeli tourists and businesspeople were detained on Wednesday at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow and their passports confiscated, without any apparent reason.
Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed that 46 people, including several young children, were detained for questioning by airport security. Following two hours of questioning and fingerprinting, all passengers were released.
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The incident comes after a group of eight businessmen were held in a Russian airport overnight and then deported back to Israel last week, according to an Israeli report.
The Foreign Ministry said it was working with Russian authorities to smooth travel for Israelis to the country.
These recent incidents come on the heels of the imprisonment of 26-year-old Israeli Naama Issachar in Russia.
Issachar was arrested in April while traveling via Moscow from India after Russian airport security discovered 9.6 grams of cannabis in her belongings. Two months ago, she was sentenced by a Russian court to 7.5 years in prison.
The Russian Embassy in Israel issued a statement about Wednesday's incident, saying "5,771 Russian tourists were not allowed to enter Israel in 2019. Every day about 20 Russian tourists arriving in Israel on an organized trip are detained and sent back to Russia. The Russian side does not respond to relevant Israeli authorities' decisions."
