A serious Israeli accusation against Moscow of providing weapons to Palestinian factions
Russian-Israeli relations are still witnessing a state of ebb and flow, although they are on the way to greater tension, despite the phone call made by Israeli President Isaac Herzog with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, at the request of Prime Minister Yair Lapid, to discuss the issue of closing the headquarters of the Jewish Agency, but it is clear that this contact was not entirely cordial, as was leaked by Herzog’s circles.
Anna Barsky, a correspondent for the Israeli Maariv newspaper, quoted well-informed Russian sources as saying that “Herzog informed Putin about shipments of weapons that pass through Russia on their way to the Palestinian armed organizations, but the Kremlin circles denied this, and said; The issue was never raised”.
She added in a report that “Putin told Herzog that it is possible for these weapons to reach the Palestinian organizations, not from his country, but from Ukraine, but the Israeli side claimed that it had intelligence information indicating the source and the route the arms take to reach the Palestinian organizations.
Herzog asked Putin to take steps to block arms smuggling routes from Russia to Palestinian organizations.
In another negative development in Russian-Israeli relations, Israel appealed to Moscow not to interfere in the Knesset elections scheduled for November.
This official request was delivered through a letter signed by Prime Minister Yair Lapid, which reached Moscow through the Shin Bet security service.
Knowing that the Shin Bet claimed three years ago that a foreign country intends to interfere in the Israeli elections, without disclosing for whom or against whom.
Ben Caspit said in a report published by Maariv newspaper, that Israeli political and partisan circles are concerned about the possibility of external interference in the November elections, especially through electronic means, and for this reason Israel recently appealed to Russia with a request not to interfere in the elections.
The upcoming elections by any means, and the request was made at the organizational level between the head of the Shin Bet and his Russian counterpart, following Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s directive.
He added that “the implicit Israeli accusation against Russia of trying to interfere in the parliamentary elections brings to mind a previous accusation made by Nadav Argaman, former head of the Shin Bet at Tel Aviv University, when he threw a bomb, and warned of an external move that might affect the election results due to the interference of a foreign country, and that the information in his possession is based on evidence and clues, claiming that he knows what he is talking about, and you will do so through electronic means through hackers and hackers.
At the same time, despite Herzog’s conversation with Putin, the Israeli leaks began to talk that the Jewish Agency may be on its way out of Russia, and that it is investigating how the center of its activity was transferred from Russia to Israel due to the crisis, and the negative effects this means on the rates of Jewish immigration.
Zvika Klein, said in a report at the Jerusalem Post newspaper, that it is expected that the heads of the Jewish Agency will announce the cessation of its activity in Russia, where a meeting of its senior officials was held at the Agency’s headquarters in Jerusalem, and they discussed how to restore its activity to Israel”.
And this is a dramatic shift, as the agency will start operating like charitable trusts operating in Russia, by funding local activities, or sending temporary teachers from Israel to help the lives of Jews in Russia”.
He added, “The direct consequences of this decision, if it is actually taken, is that there will be no activity for Jewish immigration from Russia in any way, and the agency will be forced to adapt to the requirements of Russian law, and act within its framework, but it will continue to exist and work in it, as far as is possible.
