Lebanon Frees Two Palestinians After Phone Codes Set Off Spy Reports
Authorities questioned the pair, confirmed they had entered Lebanon legally and cleared them after rumors spread that Mossad agents had been seized.
By Sophie Zhang ·
Lebanon released two Palestinian men on Sunday after their phone numbers carried Israeli country codes, ending a day of speculation about an intelligence capture.
The two men, both from Ramallah, were detained after their numbers were found to carry Israeli country codes. Their reservations at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut were booked with those numbers, according to Beirut Time. An Uber driver and hotel staff alerted authorities, prompting the inquiry.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the circulating claims about a Mossad capture "fake news" and condemned what he described as "moral bankruptcy" surrounding the affair, in a statement from Lebanon's Presidency of the Council of Ministers. His office said hostile parties had pushed the rumors in a "cheap attempt to tarnish the reputation of the President of the Council of Ministers and mislead public opinion." The statement said security forces had questioned both men and determined each had entered Lebanon legally and visited the country before.
Beirut Time reported Sunday that claims were circulating that two Mossad agents holding Turkish passports had been staying at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel. The following day, a separate rumor spread that Salam had deported the men rather than holding them, drawing anger from anti-Israel voices in Lebanon.
Public concern about Mossad activity has grown since September 2024, when thousands of booby-trapped pagers exploded across Lebanon and Syria, killing and wounding Hezbollah members. Hezbollah acknowledged that most of those killed or injured were its members. Civilians were also reported to have suffered life-altering injuries.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
