Biden to urge Iraq's PM act to release Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov

Shafaq News/ U.S. President Joe Biden is set to address the issue of the abducted Israeli, Elizabeth Tsurkov, during his upcoming meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani at the White House on Monday, a senior US source told Ynet.

According to Ynet, the online outlet for the Israeli Yedioth Ahronot newspaper, Biden closely follows the situation, vehemently condemning her abduction, and will urge to expedite efforts to locate Tsurkov and ensure her swift release.

Tsurkov, 36, a Middle East analyst and doctoral student at Princeton University, entered Iraq in late 2022 using her Russian passport before she disappeared in March 2023.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister specifically pointed to Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) in Iraq as responsible for the incident.

The Brigades did not comment on the incident.

Tsurkov's personal website highlights her proficiency in English, Hebrew, Russian, and Arabic. Additionally, she is affiliated with the Institute for National Security Studies and the Regional Thinking Forum, an Israeli-Palestinian intellectual institution based in Jerusalem.

British sociologist David Miller claimed that Tsurkov is an Israeli spy.

"Did you know the father of Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Russian-Israeli missing in Iraq, was part of an Israeli intelligence plot in the Soviet Union to recruit settlers for Palestine?" Miller posted on September 11, 2023, on X.

Miller also shared an article he wrote for PressTV claiming that "she had been in military intelligence while in the Israeli occupation forces during the 2006 Lebanon war and that she had remained in the Israeli military reserves until at least August 2011."