Shock video shows mob targeting Israelis at Russian airport

A Putin spokesperson blamed "the West" after hundreds stormed an airport in Dagestan

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published October 30, 2023 11:25AM (EDT)

A Tupolev Tu-134B passenger plane is seen on the postament next to a sign reading as 'Dagestan' outside the airport in Makhachkala on October 30, 2023. Russian police on October 30, 2023 said they had arrested 60 people suspected of storming an airport in the Muslim-majority Caucasus republic of Dagestan, seeking to attack Jewish passengers coming from Israel. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
A Tupolev Tu-134B passenger plane is seen on the postament next to a sign reading as 'Dagestan' outside the airport in Makhachkala on October 30, 2023. Russian police on October 30, 2023 said they had arrested 60 people suspected of storming an airport in the Muslim-majority Caucasus republic of Dagestan, seeking to attack Jewish passengers coming from Israel. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned a meeting of top law enforcement officials on Monday after hundreds of angry men stormed an airport in Dagestan in search of Israelis on a flight from Tel Aviv, The Associated Press reports. Russian news outlets reported that hundreds of men from the largely Muslim capital of Makhachkala rushed the airport landing field on Sunday in search of passengers. Videos showed some in the crowd waving Palestinian flags and trying to overturn a police car. Others held banners saying “Child killers are not welcome in Dagestan” and “We’re against Jewish refugees.” Officials said more than 20 people were injured, including police officers and civilians, and 60 people were detained in the unrest — which appeared to receive little resistance from police.

The Kremlin on Monday blamed "outside interference" for sparking the riot. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president's meeting will discuss “attempts by the West to use the events in the Middle East to divide the (Russian) society.” Dagestan Gov. Sergei Melikov claimed that the unrest was coordinated on a Telegram channel run by "traitors" based in Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel “expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”