Russia Detains Israelis at Airport as New Traveler Spat Erupts

Source: RT

A day after an Israeli-American woman jailed in Russia on drug charges was released from prison during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ten citizens of the Middle Eastern state were denied entry to Russia, The Times of Israel reports.

The ten Israelis, who were traveling on an Aeroflot flight, were detained at the airport upon arriving in Moscow. They were fingerprinted and had DNA samples taken before they were put on a plane back to Israel, the Ynet news site reported.

Russia has repeatedly detained and blocked Israelis from going in the country in recent months, reportedly in protest at Israel denying entry to hundreds of travelers from Russia.

The Foreign Ministry cited Russian border authorities on Friday as saying the Israelis “did not manage to explain the reason of their arrival in Russia,” according to the news site.

The incident came a day after Netanyahu made a lightning trip to Moscow as Naama Issachar was released from prison following a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Issachar, 27, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for alleged drug smuggling after nearly 10 grams of cannabis were found in her luggage. She denied smuggling drugs, noting she did not try to enter Russia during a layover on her way to Israel from India.

An Israeli official said Issachar’s release was the result of a Russian goodwill gesture toward the United States, stressing that Israel did not give Moscow anything in return.

However, Al-Monitor reported on Thursday that Russia raised the issue of Israel blocking the entry of some of its citizens. Last month, several dozen Israelis were detained for questioning at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. At the time, the Russian embassy issued a statement that appeared to link the detentions to the fact that “by December 1, 2019, 5,771 Russian tourists were not permitted to enter Israel.”

According to Al-Monitor, an inter-governmental committee run by Likud Minister Ze’ev Elkin “asked the Immigration Authority to refrain from sweeping deportations and to justify every deportation with real evidence.”