Officials: Israel refuses entry to American journalist, will expel him
By Mark Lavie, APWednesday, January 13, 2010
Israel to expel American journalist
JERUSALEM — Security officials said Wednesday that a American journalist has been detained at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport and will be expelled.
They said the journalist, identified by Palestinians as Jared Malsin, raised security suspicions during an initial investigation upon his arrival. The Interior Ministry decided he would not be permitted to enter and would remain in detention until his expulsion.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because they are not authorized to share the information with the media.
The Palestinian Maan news agency said Malsin is its English-language editor. In a statement, Maan said the detention was “arbitrary” and an affront to journalists.
George Hale of Maan said Malsin, who is Jewish, appealed the expulsion order and was to appear before a judge in a Tel Aviv court on Thursday morning.
(This version CORRECTS UPDATES with hearing set for Thursday. corrects that journalist is not Palestinian.)
