Russian woman abducted in Iraq claims Netanyahu manipulated by his wife and son

Russian-Israeli citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov (also spelled the Russian way as Yelizaveta Tsurkova), who was abducted several months ago in Iraq by Shiite militias, appeared in a video released by Iraqi TV channel Al Rabiaa. In the video, the woman admitted to working for intelligence services of Israel and the United States.

Tsurkov stated that she came to Syria in 2019 as an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Mossad. The purpose of her trip was to establish ties between Israel and anti-government forces. She then went on a subversive mission to Iraq to incite hostility between Shiites.

The woman also openly criticised Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip and claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was controlled by his wife Sarah and son Yair.

Tsurkov's sister Emma cast doubts on the veracity of Elizabeth Tsurkov's statements that she made in her video.

"We are glad to see her alive. We will not comment on the content of her statements as it is clear that she was forced to make them," Emma Tsurkova told Yedioth Ahronoth publication.

The Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 5 that Tsurkov, who went missing in March, was being held by pro-Iranian group Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq. She entered the republic on her Russian passport for scientific purposes, the department said.

Elizabeth Tsurkov is a scholar and expert on Syria and the Middle East. She visited Iraq on a Russian passport as part of her doctoral work and research for Princeton University. According to Israeli Kan radio, her scientific work was devoted to comparing the movement of supporters of the Iraqi Shiite imam Muqtada al-Sadr (Sadrists) and Lebanese militias. Before her abduction, Tsurkov conducted field research in Iraq and Lebanon.