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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAt least 14 private jets from Russia have landed in Israel in the past 10 days amid the latest round
of sanctions targeting oligarchsAt least 14 private jets from Russia have landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, per a report by The Times of Israel.
The report cited a broadcast by Israel's Channel 12, which said that a number of rented private planes were coming from Russia and were landing in Israel. The owners were unidentified and this has led to speculation that oligarchs may be looking at ways to slip around sanctions.
Ben Gurion Airport did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal US working hours.
Sanctions have ramped up against oligarchs amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24. The US and EU announced on Friday that they were taking further steps to isolate Russia from the global financial system.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-14-private-jets-russia-133933612.html
Sneederbunk
(14,290 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,703 posts)I'm still trying to make sense out of their advice to Zelensky to bow down to Putin.
cinematicdiversions
(1,969 posts)pandr32
(11,581 posts)mitch96
(13,895 posts)Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)All coincidences I m sure
or not?
Release of Iran from oil sanctions will not make Putin happy about his predicament either.
Smell test is not being passed.
Sneederbunk
(14,290 posts)jaxexpat
(6,820 posts)That was a while back. They may have lost their touch since then. Along with their priorities.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)Is it the Iranian concern?
Celerity
(43,343 posts)Evergreen Emerald
(13,069 posts)WTF
pandr32
(11,581 posts)Traildogbob
(8,731 posts)Cut em off from our cash faucet. We do not need their damn space lasers.
Samrob
(4,298 posts)What would have happened had 14 Russian jets landed in Iran in the past 10 days?
Israelis should be ashamed and at a minimum protesting in the streets.
My, my the MSM is deadly silent about this to their shame.
Evolve Dammit
(16,725 posts)inconvenient truths like these.
Celerity
(43,343 posts)Three of these six nationsRussia, Israel, the UAEhad infiltrated deep into the Trump campaign by March 2016: Russia through Dimitri Simes; the UAE through Yousef al-Otaiba; Israel through Kushner, Groner, and Birnbaum. The campaign understood the plan these nations had.
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EXCLUSIVE: The secret yacht summit that realigned the Middle East
Arab leaders from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan plotted to counter Turkey and Iran, and replace the GCC and Arab League
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-secret-yacht-summit-realigned-middle-east
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How Trump was key to plans
The secret summit on the Red Sea took place towards the end of King Salmans first year in power, when his son MBS was only deputy crown prince. His chief obstacle to the Saudi throne lay in the form of his elder cousin Mohammed bin Nayef, who was crown prince and a favourite of Washingtons security establishment. MBS would become crown prince in June 2017, only after his father deposed Bin Nayef. Trump had only announced his candidacy months before in June 2015 when the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was leading in all the polls. She was thought by the Saudis and Emiratis to be more likely to ring fence the nuclear deal Barack Obama made with Iran, and to be generally more sceptical of their plans for a push back in the region.
Significantly, these Arab leaders decided in late 2015 that a wildcard presidential candidate in the shape of Trump could be the key to their plans to become the new regional hegemons. Months later, in January 2016, King Abdullah of Jordan briefed US Congressional leaders that Turkey presented the main threat to regional security. As MEE reported, the king told US congressmen in a closed meeting that Turkey exported terrorists to Europe, comments he was to deny publicly later. But Jordan then fell out dramatically with the group which had gathered on the yacht: Saudi Arabia decided that Amman did not go far enough in enforcing the blockade against Qatar, which was imposed in June last year. The split between Saudi and Jordan widened further when Jordan voted against Trumps move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which threatens Jordans role as custodian of the Holy Places in the city.
Nader the go-between
Nader has recently emerged as a key back channel between Bin Zayed and Trump. The New York Times has reported that Mueller is actively chasing financial links in order to establish whether the Emiratis illegally contributed funds to Trumps presidential campaign. It reported that in recent weeks Muellers investigators have questioned Nader and pressed witnesses about any possible attempts by the Emiratis to buy political influence by directing money to Trumps presidential campaign. On Friday, reports emerged of a slew of convictions that Nader had on charges of sexually abusing underage boys and possessing child pornography. Newsweek reported that Nader had been sentenced to six months on child pornography charges in Virginia. According to federal court records seen by Newsweek, Nader was convicted of bringing child pornography into the US from Germany. This was in addition to a conviction on 10 counts of sexually abusing underage boys in the Czech Republic for which he served one year in prison in 2003.
Despite this criminal history, Nader was actively used by Trump. He attended a meeting with Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, and Steve Bannon, his chief political strategists at Trump Tower in New York in December 2016. A month later Nader, Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater, and a Russian banker all attended a meeting in the Seychelles with Bin Zayed. Nader has long-standing connections with Israel. During the presidential elections bin Zayed sent Nader to meet Israeli officials to discuss how the two states can co-operate, a source told MEE. Nader established ties with Israel through an American Jewish fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, who is close to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the NYT, Broidy owns a private security company with hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts with the UAE. Broidy was removed as chairman of the Tel Aviv-based Markstone Capital Partners after admitting paying nearly $1m in bribes to pension fund managers in New York State. Broidy became deputy chairman of Trumps fundraising campaign. Citing a memorandum made by Broidy, and passed to the newspaper by someone critical of the Emirati influence in Washington, the NYT reported that Broidy lobbied Trump to meet Bin Zayed in an informal setting, to back the UAEs policies, and to push him to fire his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. In response to the leaking of his memorandum, Broidy accused registered and unregistered agents of Qatar for the hacking. Broidy made the accusation through his press spokesman and in a letter to the Qatari ambassador in Washington.
snip
Israeli, Saudi, and Emirati Officials Privately Pushed For Trump To Strike A Grand Bargain With Putin
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/israeli-saudi-and-emirati-officials-privately-pushed-for-trump-to-strike-a-grand-bargain-with-putin
https://archive.ph/QPfJW
During a private meeting shortly before the November, 2016, election, Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, floated to a longtime American interlocutor what sounded, at the time, like an unlikely grand bargain. The Emirati leader told the American that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, might be interested in resolving the conflict in Syria in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed in response to Russias actions in Ukraine.
Current and former U.S. officials said that bin Zayed, known as M.B.Z., was not the only leader in the region who favored rapprochement between the former Cold War adversaries. While Americas closest allies in Europe viewed with a sense of dread Trumps interest in partnering with Putin, three countries that enjoyed unparallelled influence with the incoming AdministrationIsrael, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E.privately embraced the goal. Officials from the three countries have repeatedly encouraged their American counterparts to consider ending the Ukraine-related sanctions in return for Putins help in removing Iranian forces from Syria.
Experts say that such a deal would be unworkable, even if Trump were interested. They say Putin has neither the interest nor the ability to pressure Iranian forces to leave Syria. Administration officials have said that Syria and Ukraine will be among the topics that Trump and Putin will discuss at their summit in Helsinki on July 16th. White House officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his F.B.I. team, tasked with probing Russias interference in the 2016 election, have been investigating whether the U.A.E. facilitated contacts between Trumps team and Russian officials and sought to influence U.S. politics. Nine days before Trumps Inauguration, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and a confidant of Steve Bannon, met at M.B.Z.s resort in the Seychelles with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russias sovereign wealth fund, whom the Emiratis used as a go-between with Putin. (An April, 2017, Washington Post story that I co-wrote revealed the Indian Ocean encounter and stated that the UAE agreed to broker the meeting in part to explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria, a Trump administration objective that would be likely to require major concessions to Moscow on U.S. sanctions.)
snip
Exclusive: Jeffrey Epsteins investment in an Israeli start-up reveals a myriad of links to Donald Trump and Israeli spies.
https://narativ.org/2019/07/27/building-big-brother/
Its been thirty-two years since the Pollard Affair pierced the seemingly impenetrable facade of U.S.-Israeli relations. Now, two suspected Israeli agents are in jail indicted on separate charges of sex trafficking of minors. Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on July 6 and charged with trafficking minors across state lines. George Nader a key witness for Robert Mueller was arrested last month for possession of child porn and transporting a minor for sex from Europe.
Epstein and Nader share a personal network that includes Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Erik Prince, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and his UAE counterpart, Mohamed Bin Zayed. But their association goes further than powerful friends and proclivities for teenage boys and girls. Epstein and Nader are believed to be agents for Israeli Intelligence. Narativ has independently confirmed with two separate sources who were in a position to know that Epstein worked for Israeli military intelligence.
Both men also have ties to a burgeoning Israeli tech sector which is bringing Mossad-style military intelligence to the private sector and endangering the global balance of power. The Haaretz newspaper has previously reported that Epstein, who was Donald Trumps friend through the 80s and 90s, partnered in an Israeli start-up alongside former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Barak is seeking to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli Prime Minister in the upcoming re-run elections scheduled for September. Since 2015, he has been the front-man for Carbyne, an Israeli start-up which purports to be a high-tech solution for 911 emergency call centers, but the platforms architecture and investors raise serious privacy concerns. Narativ undertook an extensive investigation into Carbyne, and can now reveal a myriad of troubling connections between the start-up and people connected to Donald Trump.
snip
Evergreen Emerald
(13,069 posts)This should have been ferreted out. Rather than fall into the obvious distraction of "her e-mails," the media did nothing. They were either used as pawns or complicit.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Tetrachloride
(7,839 posts)kentuck
(111,089 posts)...moreso than would have been expected.
ColinC
(8,291 posts)maxrandb
(15,324 posts)ColinC
(8,291 posts)Wasnt the most durable alliance
Samrob
(4,298 posts)slater71
(1,153 posts)OrangeJoe
(337 posts)Israel and Russia have extensive ties. Look up the Russian drone that was recently shot down by the Ukrainians. Notice the manufacturers tag: Made in Israel. Israel and Russia have been cooperating in Syria for years, now Russia is getting some return on their investment.
AlexSFCA
(6,137 posts)brush
(53,776 posts)recently? Was a deal cut?
DFW
(54,370 posts)Quick, Dmitri! Tell me how you say, "shalom" in Hebrew! I have to convince them I'm Jewish!
ToxMarz
(2,166 posts)but seizing them wouldn't hurt oligarchs much if they don't actuality own them. Maybe something else going on. I have no idea or opinion. Maybe some wealthy Russians seeking an alternative to Putins plans meeting there with whomever.
Mr.Bill
(24,284 posts)a new place to launder their money. They can't use Trump anymore.
Evolve Dammit
(16,725 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,284 posts)I mean Yachts are being confiscated. I know I would worry about that.
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)"Youll be calling until the mashiach comes, one woman responded this week to a frantic query about embassy appointments on a Facebook group for Russians planning to move to Israel.
While Russians seeking to make the move, known as aliyah, may not have to wait until the messiah arrives, they are facing extended delays even as their country sinks into crisis because of the war their president, Vladimir Putin, launched last month against neighboring Ukraine.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, wait times for appointments at the Israeli embassies have grown recently and now can be up to eight months. That is proving a challenge as many Jews there are making abrupt plans to leave their longtime home, driven by Putins strict crackdown on freedom of speech, shutdown of independent media outlets and criminalization of opposition to the war, as well as a wave of international sanctions on Russia that could drive many in the country into poverty.
Everyone who has any hope of obtaining citizenship and leaving Russia is trying to do it, an artist in Moscow told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The artist, who went through the immigration process before the war and will soon leave for Israel, requested anonymity because of fear around speaking to the press in Russia right now.
more...
From the article in the OP:
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)But you correct, wait a bit for full info. on why so many private jets are being permitted to fly out and permitted to fly in while the world bans ALL flights.
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)Also, there is NOT a world ban on all flights. Also, in case you missed it, it appears the flights originated from Turkey. So, was it 14 RENTED private jets from Turkey? Who is on them? What is on them? As of now, there is nothing but speculation and most seem intent on speculating the worst and continue a demonization campaign.
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)Let loose with the info whats the harm? End the speculation!
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)While I am certainly interested, there are things that just aren't up for public consumption. Of course, it doesn't stop the rank speculation and creating of "facts" by those with their own bigoted axe to grind.
former9thward
(31,997 posts)Just Europe and the U.S. That is not the "world".
OrangeJoe
(337 posts)When the Israelis get caught doing something wrong they close down and don't comment knowing that the world's attention span is very short and new events will put their past misbehavior right down the memory hole.
flying_wahini
(6,591 posts)family and friends. They are RATS leaving a sinking ship. Israel had better watch how many
they let it, lest it trigger too much suspicion.
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)Response to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)
Post removed
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)patphil
(6,172 posts)Israeli minister Naftali Bennett recently called on Ukraine to essentially surrender.
They're trying to protect their interests in Russia.
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)OrangeJoe
(337 posts)Explain this fact for me. Why has Israel sold drones to Russia?
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)OrangeJoe
(337 posts)Get back to me with your explanation for this.
OrangeJoe
(337 posts)"Ukraine has been publicly pleading for Israel to provide it with protective gear, but has so far been rebuffed. Earlier Friday, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not understand Israels refusal to provide defensive equipment, as he accused Israeli leaders of not doing enough to help Ukraine by providing defensive aid, absorbing refugees, and taking a clear stance against Russia."
Thanks Israel for showing your true colors. "Never again" evidently doesn't apply to anyone other than the chosen people I guess.
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)The Forpost is a reconnaissance UAV, produced by Russia under license based on the IAI Searcher. Such licenses were sold to Russia in 2015, and the country is believed to operate several dozens of such drones.
OrangeJoe
(337 posts)My point is proven. Russia is using drones provided by Israel to further their aggression against Ukraine. They also were called out by Ukrainian officials for not helping Ukraine more. From an article published in a major Israeli newspaper. So are you accusing the Time of Israel of posting fake news?
Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)OrangeJoe
(337 posts)The name plate on the drone that was shot down says "IAI Israel Aerospace Industries LTD Systems Missiles and Space Group Taman Division"
Nothing about Russia on the name plate. Face it Israel is supplying Russia weapons which are use to kill Ukrainian civilians and soldiers while not supplying Ukraine the weapons it needs to fight off the invaders.
"Never Again" doesn't apply to Ukrainians.
Response to OrangeJoe (Reply #64)
Behind the Aegis This message was self-deleted by its author.
Arazi
(6,829 posts)BlueIdaho
(13,582 posts)Doesnt that change everything about our support of that country?
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)BlueIdaho
(13,582 posts)But your point is well taken.
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)Crowman2009
(2,495 posts)I highly doubt these are poor Jewish refugees that are arriving from these planes. Under the Likud party, Israel now has economic inequality on par with the the US.
Fla Dem
(23,656 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)BootinUp
(47,144 posts)maxsolomon
(33,327 posts)Finland and Israel are the best options to lead a peace process.