Israeli MPs Cancel Georgia Trip Over Terror Threats

A group of Israeli MPs canceled their trip to Georgia, where they were set to attend the upcoming Israel Week conference, citing supposed warnings of a potential terrorist attack.

However, shortly after, Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) clarified that they had been in touch with Israeli intelligence, and neither agency had received any such threat information, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Israeli media said the country’s parliamentary security body had ordered the MPs to call off the trip.

‘As part of the situation assessment conducted prior to any Knesset member's travel, a conversation was held with the members of Knesset by the Knesset Guard, and what was said cannot be expanded upon due to security considerations’, the Israeli Parliament said, as cited by Israel National News on Wednesday.

There was no official statement shared on the Israeli Parliament’s website.

On Thursday, Georgia’s SSG released its own statement on the matter, saying, ‘Neither the Georgian nor the Israeli special services had any information about the threat of imminent terrorist attacks in Georgia, and accordingly, they did not share it with anyone’.

‘We are in contact with representatives of the Israeli intelligence service, who have expressed surprise at the misinformation being spread’.

The SSG added that ‘it is very sad and noteworthy that such information is being disseminated by a part of the Georgian media without verification’, and urged the media ‘to refrain from spreading unverified and damaging information about Georgia’.

Itsik Moshe, the president of the Israel-Georgia Business Chamber and the individual who organised the conference, said it was intended to promote diplomatic and economic cooperation between Georgia and Israel.

‘Despite the diplomatic balance imposed by the environment, Georgia has long been considered one of the most pro-Israel countries among the former Soviet Union states. Regarding the economy, I would sum up by saying that Israel’s economic contribution to Georgia is growing year by year and could reach one billion dollars annually by 2030, with the main component coming from tourism with 500,000 tourists and 25% from real estate purchases and investments’, Moshe said.

In his description of the event, Moshe also mentioned a 2022 assassination attempt against him that SSG said it had foiled at the time.

The plot was allegedly organised by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.