Israeli Druze diplomat says racially profiled at airport

An Israeli diplomat from the country's Druze minority has accused security agents at Tel Aviv airport of racially profiling and humiliating him and his family as they travelled on official business.

Israel's ambassador to Panama Reda Mansour, who hails from the mainly Druze town of Isfiya near Haifa, was flying to the Central American country on Saturday when he was stopped and interrogated by security officers at Ben Gurion airport.

"When they learned that we came from Isfiya, they asked to see our passports," Mansour wrote on Facebook after the incident.

Israeli Arabs and Druze often denounce harsh treatment by the airport's security staff, but it is rare for a senior official to speak out on the subject.

After detailing the encounter, Mansour spoke of "humiliation" and concluded: "Go to hell... I feel like vomiting."