Moscow

As many as 15 people who stormed a Russian airport runway and tried to encircle a plane that had flown in from Israel were sentenced to prison by courts on Wednesday (Nov 1).

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Courts in Dagestan, a Muslim-majority region, jailed the rioters for between two and ten days for their involvement in the anti-Jewish incident, the TASS news agency reported. Whereas, two more were ordered to complete 60 hours of forced labour.

The incident happened on Sunday when the Red Wing Airlines flight from Tel Aviv landed at Makhachkala Uytash Airport around 7 pm (local time).

Soon a mob of angry crowd holding Palestinian flags surrounded the plane.

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Chanted anti-Jewish slogans 

Reportedly, they also shouted slogans such as “We are against Jewish refugees,” and “There is no place for child-killers in Dagestan.”

The airport was temporarily closed and flights were diverted, a statement from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said.

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Authorities said at least 20 people were injured and 60 people were detained. Many Jewish leaders condemned the incident, likening the incident to Tsar-era pogroms.

On Tuesday, a prominent rabbi in Russia, Boruch Gorin, slammed the Russian authorities over the antisemetic riots calling the incident an “eternal disgrace.”

Israel warns citizens to leave 

The order from the court comes a day after an emergency meeting held between President Vladimir Putin and top security officials over the security situation in Dagestan.

Later in a speech on TV, Putin blamed the Western agents for the riots, saying, “The events in Makhachkala last night were instigated through social networks, not least from Ukraine, by the hands of agents of Western special services.”

Also read | Russia beefs up security in Muslim-majority region after anti-Semetic riots, Israel asks citizens to leave

Meanwhile, Israel has warned its citizens to leave the North Caucasus in the wake of the riots in Dagestan.

Also read | Israel-Hamas war: FBI director cautions against al-Qaeda threat in the US

Israel's Foreign Ministry and National Security Council warned its citizens to immediately leave the place and called on "all Israelis staying abroad to exercise vigilance, and stay away from demonstrations and protests, and obey the local security forces in case they get caught up in the incidents."

(With inputs from agencies)