Israeli Prof. Appeals to Netanyahu to ‘Rescue Him from Biden’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
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Israeli Prof. Appeals to Netanyahu to ‘Rescue Him from Biden’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli professor Gal Luft has appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to “rescue” him from being imprisoned in the US.

The Larnaca District Courthouse held on Friday a session to look into the American authorities' request to extradite Luft to be brought to trial in the US over breaching the law of selling oil and weapons.

Luft said the prosecution is politically motivated over incriminating information he has in a corruption case against Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden.

Luft, 56, an energy security and diplomatic expert, serves as the co-director of the Washington-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS).

He was arrested at the Larnaca International Airport, in Cyprus, after Interpol issued an arrest warrant against him on suspicion of arms trafficking to Libya and China.

Luft went on to deny suspicions leveled against him, stressing that he has “never been an arms dealer” and further claiming that the US Justice Department is “trying to bury me to protect Biden” and his family.

He added that he was being targeted for information handed in 2019 as part of Hunter Biden’s alleged corruption case.

After his arrest, Luft sent letters to Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Justice and asked them to intervene to rescue him.

Speaking to the Ynet studio on Sunday, Luft's attorney Mordechai Tzivin said: “When there is a political motive, Interpol does not extradite, or when there is a danger to someone’s life. I don't want to say that he is in mortal danger, but he is indeed in great danger.”

Tzivin expressed concern about handing over his client to the US.

The Cypriot court on Friday decided to release Luft but keep him under house arrest and made him turn over his passport.



South Korea President Vows to Build 'Military Trust' with North

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Ahn Young-joon / POOL/AFP
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Ahn Young-joon / POOL/AFP
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South Korea President Vows to Build 'Military Trust' with North

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Ahn Young-joon / POOL/AFP
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Ahn Young-joon / POOL/AFP

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed Friday to "respect" North Korea's political system and build "military trust", a day after Pyongyang said it had no interest in improving relations with Seoul.

Lee has pledged to reach out to the nuclear-armed North and pursue dialogue without preconditions since his election in June -- a reversal from his hawkish predecessor, AFP said.

Speaking at an event marking the anniversary of liberation from Japanese rule, Lee said the South Korean government "will take consistent measures to substantially reduce tensions and restore trust" with the North.

"We affirm our respect for the North's current system," said Lee, adding Seoul had "no intention of engaging in hostile acts".

"I hope that North Korea will reciprocate our efforts to restore trust and revive dialogue," he said.

"North and South are not enemies."

Lee's speech comes a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said the North has "no will to improve relations" with the South.

She also denied reports that North Korea was removing propaganda loudspeakers.

Liberation holiday

The South's military said in June that the two countries had halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, adding last week that it had detected North Korean troops dismantling loudspeakers on the frontier.

Friday's August 15 anniversary of liberation from Japan is the only public holiday celebrated in both North and South Korea, according to Seoul's National Institute for Unification Education.

In Pyongyang, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un also made a speech at a liberation day celebration, urging the nation to overcome "the challenges facing the DPRK for the great powerful country", using the North's official acronym.

However, in an unusual move for a Liberation Day address, he made no mention of South Korea or its "enemies."

The speech was before a Russian delegation to Pyongyang, including the speaker of the Duma, who read a congratulatory letter sent to Kim by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim's speech was a "stark contrast" to his sister's recent "fiery statements," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP.

"There were no messages aimed at South Korea or the United States, no references to enemies or hostile states, and no provocative mentions of nuclear forces," said Yang.

"The intention would be to closely observe the moves of neighboring countries in the near term, including President Lee Jae Myung's Liberation Day address," he added.