In prior coverage here, I noted that at almost precisely the same time the Mossad, Ukrainian and Jordanian intelligence services were collaborating to kidnap Palestinian civil engineer Dirar Abusisi and bring him to Israel, Israel and Ukraine were negotiating major new trade deals that were especially sought after by the latter. The Ukrainian prime minister even visited Israel and held a press conference to trumpet these deals shortly after Abusisi was kidnapped. It had all the trappings of a really sleazy quid pro quo.
Now, the seeds of Ukraine’s connivance with the Mossad are bearing fruit as the Israeli civil aviation organization announces a major increase in air flights between the two countries. There will be scores of new flights and tens of thousands of Ukrainian Catholic religious pilgrims traveling to Israel and Israeli Hasidim to Ukraine. Each tourist contingent will of course spend lots of money in the other nation. Increased air traffic will also no doubt enable further trade and industry deals that will enrich Ukrainian tycoons (and perhaps Israeli) and officials.
There is also one benefit specifically for the Mossad now in all this. Instead of bringing its own plane to Ukraine for the kidnapping of Abusisi, it will have a wealth of flights and airlines to choose for the next such extraordinary rendition!
Abusisi’s attorneys are planning to file suit against the Ukrainian government for its collaboration in the kidnapping. I’ve seen the official correspondence with his family and it’s beyond pathetic. Among other things, they claim because there was no police report made of Abusisi’s kidnapping, one could not have happened. They aren’t even good liars.
A minor correction: There are quite few Catholics in Ukraine (mostly ethnic Poles). It would more likely be Orthodox Christians from Eastern and Central Ukraine or Greek-Catholics from the west of the country.
Another minor modification if I may… Israel and the Ukraine have been coming closer together for a while now. Last year 73,000 Ukrainians visited Israel (mostly Orthodox Pilgrims) and last June visa requirements for Israelis traveling to the Ukraine or Ukrainians traveling to Israel were completely lifted. Also on the agenda at the time was the establishment of a free trade zone between the two countries. Former President Viktor Yushchenko (Orange Revolution) even participated in Shimon Peres’s inaugural President’s conference 2 years ago. All of this predated the Abusisi affair. Declaring this a quid pro quo is a baseless supposition with no facts to support it. Well at least that’s what it seems like. I’m certainly open to being proven wrong.
No facts? Except that the Ukrainian prime minister was feted in Jerusalem only a few days after Abusisi’s capture. The free trade zone was discussed before his kidnapping but not implemented. There’s a diff. bet. something being “on the agenda” & implemented. The new trade agreements came AFTER the kidnapping. The new aviation agreement will allow for a 25% increase in Ukrainian tourists visiting Israel & a similar sized increase in Israelis making pilgrimage to Ukraine. That’s a whopping big increase likely due in no small part to Ukraine’s collaboration in the kidnapping. You don’t understand how relations work with Mafia led countries like Ukraine. If they want something from you they’re willing to deal–just about anything. And a Palestinian is certainly a cheap thing for them to offer. Abusisi was likely part of the price for the increased goodies they coveted fr. Israel.
You used “likely” twice in that comment. The links I pointed to talked about an estimated increase in Ukrainians visiting Israel of more than 100% – from 73,000 to 200,000. Prior to the new visa arrangements many Ukrainians visited for just a day (you could go to Israel for 1 day without having to acquire a visa) and now they can stay longer. Ukraine and Israel had been moving closer together and all these developments had been brewing long before Abusisi. Israel benefits tremendously from the free trade zone and travel agreements. I really don’t see any evidence of a quid pro quo. Of course you’re free to speculate, but the way you presented it made it seem like you were stating fact. I also think that by now the Israeli authorities have realized that Abusisi is not the high value, rocket-making, terrorist operator they might have thought he was.
Congratulations, what, did you earn a PhD in literary interpretation? So what. I wrote “likely” & it means more likely that it is true than not true. You wrote that it’s a load of hooey, which in itself is a load of hooey. You are credulous in the face of Israel’s shenanigans, I’m cynical. Cynics usually are right when it comes to examining Israel’s motives & actions.
I think it IS fact. But I don’t (yet) have a smoking gun. In fact, you’ve just prodded me into approaching someone who might have the answer. We’ll see what s/he has to say.
You again used the term “brewing.” And I repeat there is a difference between something that is “brewing” & something that actually happened. You’re talking largely about agreements discussed before the kidnapping. I’m talking about agreements implemented signed & realized after the kidnapping.
If the Israelis have realized that would you tell them to figure out some face saving way of standing down & letting the guy go before he sues the pants off the Ukrainians in the European Court and makes a stink that will harm both Ukraine & Israel.