The Messenger of Trump for hostages: “Elizaveta Tsurkov should be released immediately”

In his x-blog, Böler writes that Iraq Prime Minister “repeatedly made the false promises of the previous administration of the White House” to free Tsurkov, but this will not work with Donald Trump. “If Tsurkova is not returned immediately, then the Prime Minister Iraq is either not competent and must be resigned, or he, which is even worse, is involved in an accomplice in the abduction,” the representative of Trump writes.

At the end of January, the Arab media reported that Baghdad and Beirut announced the beginning of negotiations on the exchange of Israeli stolen in Irael Elizabeth Tsurkova for the Hizballa terrorists, captured by Israeli military.

Among who can be freed in exchange for Tsurkov, they call Imad Amphaz, captured as a result of a special operation in Batruna, in the north of Lebanon, fighters of the Sea of ​​the Shainet 13 Marine special forces.

It is reported that Hizballa handed over to the Livan to the authorities of the names of its activists, whose liberation intends to achieve in exchange for Elizabeth Tsurkov. According to various sources, the list has seven or eight names. Note that Hizballa did not recognize Imad Amphaz as her activist.

About a week ago, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told the American news site Axios that the Israeli Elizaveta Tsurkova, stolen about two years ago in Baghdad, was making efforts to release her.

According to the Arab media, since March 2023, Tsurkov has been holding as a hostage to the Right Shiite Group “Kataib Hizball”. The publication Al-Arabi al-Jadid wrote in the spring of 2024 that she was transferred to a certain place outside Baghdad, which is “under the control of influential armed groups.” Al-Arab al-Jadid quoted the statement of the anonymous representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Iraq: “During a special investigation of the fate of the stolen Israeli, Elizaveta Tsurkova, it ultimately found out that she was transferred beyond the bogdad to the area controlled by influential armed groups, which indicates that, which indicates that that she is alive and is held by the famous Iraqi group … Despite difficulties, the investigation continues. ” According to this official, Tsurkov was at that time in the province of Babil, in the center of Iraq.

In November 2023, the Iraqi television channel “Ar-Era” published a video with Tsurkova. It was represented by the television channel as an Israeli, although she also has a Russian passport. In the video lasting a little more than four minutes, Tsurkova speaks in Hebrew, her speech is translated into Arabic. In particular, she states that she worked for Mosad and the CIA. As evidence that the video was recently shot, Tsurkova mentions the war in the Gaza sector. The words that the hostage pronounces, apparently, were written for her.

After it became known about the abduction of Elizabeth Tsurkova in Baghdad, the press service of the office of the head of the Israeli government spread the message: “She is a scientist who arrived at Iraq on Russian passport and on her own initiative to protect the doctoral dissertation and research for Princeton University in the United States” .

Elizaveta Tsurkova was an employee of the “Forum of Regional Analysis” of the Israeli Research Institute “MOLAD”, the Washington Institute of Center for Global Policy, specialized in the study of the conflict in Syria. She collaborated with many media, including contacting our editors. In March 2023, she was captured by the police of the Iraqi Hizballa in the north of Iraq, where she came to collect material for writing a doctorship.

In March 2021, Elizabeth wrote on her Twitter that she was against transactions for the exchange of prisoners, even if her next visit to Syria or Iraq would not go as planned.

The AL-monitor publication published details about the abduction of Elizabeth Tsurkova. The article by Amberin Zaman said that Tsurkov was abducted in Baghdad on March 21, 2023. At the same time, it was noted that by that time Elizabeth had been in the capital of Iraq for a long time, and eight days before the abduction she underwent surgery to one of the Baghdad hospitals in connection with the injury of the back. It is known that in Baghdad, Tsurkova interviewed the supporters of the influential leader of the local Shiites of the Muktada al-Sadra. According to Al-Monitor, Elizabeth Tsurkov was abducted by representatives of the Shiite paramilitary group “Asib Ahl Al-Hakk” (“League of the Righteous”, included by the US authorities in the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2020), related to the Iranian “Corps of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution” and the incoming ” The Iraqi “detachments of folk mobilization” (ONM) formed to combat the Sunni “Islamic state”.

The Israeli government stated that Elizabeth Tsurkov was captured by the police of the Right Shiite Group “Kataib Hizball”, acting in the nominee. This organization was recognized by the United States as terrorist back in 2009.

Israeli authorities say that Tsurkova entered Iraq according to her Russian passport. It is known that she did this repeatedly in the past.

AL-monitor sources claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly involved in attempts to achieve the liberation of Tsurkova through Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The same sources said that there was no doubt that the militias who stole Tsurkov acted in agreement with the Iranian authorities and expect to “use it as a trump card to exchange prisoners or other concessions.”