Five Israeli citizens were detained at a Moscow airport on Wednesday and were eventually deported back to Israel.
A similar incident last week saw 10 Israelis being deported from Russia back to Israel.
"We landed at 12:20 but were not allowed entry and they started questioning us," said one of the passengers detained by Russian authorities. "They took our fingerprints, photographed us and gave us DNA checks. They locked us in a room without our passports, with no water or a bathroom. Unbelievable. Only after we complained, they gave us one small bottle of water to share among us."
It’s a shame that the State of Israel is letting its citizens go through such a thing," said another passenger. "I understand not letting us into Russia, but locking us in a room for six hours without water, bathrooms or connection to the outside world?"
Ultimately, all five Israelis were released and deported back to Israel.
Last week, ten Israelis aged 25 to 45 were deported from a Moscow airport back to Israel after being detained for eight hours and having their DNA and fingerprints collected.
The Russian Embassy in Israel responded to the detention of the Israelis, implying Israel mistreats its nationals traveling into the Mediterranean country.
"5,771 Russian tourists were not allowed to enter Israel in 2019. Every day, about 20 Russian tourists arriving in Israel on an organized trip are detained and sent back to Russia," read a statement published by the embassy.
One of the concessions, signed between Israel and Russia following the release of Israeli-American Naama Issachar, was a bilateral consular immigration treaty, stating Israel will minimize the number of deportations of Russian nationals.