The Lebanese-Israeli border on the southern side, in October 2020. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
The handover of Saleh Abou Hussein, an Israeli citizen detained in Lebanon since July 2024, to Israel on Thursday has sparked controversy, particularly within Hezbollah circles. Abou Hussein, a young Israeli Arab, had illegally crossed into southern Lebanon in protest of Israeli policy. Hezbollah denounced his release as “a free gift to Israel,” and its parliamentary bloc accused Lebanese authorities of “treason.”Abou Hussein swam across the border into Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, last year and was immediately arrested by Lebanese military intelligence. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, several official sources described him as “unstable.” “How else can you explain the risk he took?” said one source familiar with the case. The sources added that he was cleared of any ties to Israeli intelligence and freed mainly on humanitarian...
The handover of Saleh Abou Hussein, an Israeli citizen detained in Lebanon since July 2024, to Israel on Thursday has sparked controversy, particularly within Hezbollah circles. Abou Hussein, a young Israeli Arab, had illegally crossed into southern Lebanon in protest of Israeli policy. Hezbollah denounced his release as “a free gift to Israel,” and its parliamentary bloc accused Lebanese authorities of “treason.”Abou Hussein swam across the border into Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, last year and was immediately arrested by Lebanese military intelligence. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, several official sources described him as “unstable.” “How else can you explain the risk he took?” said one source familiar with the case. The sources added that he was cleared of any ties to Israeli intelligence and freed mainly on...
