Israeli Secret Service Dragged Reporter Off Netanyahu's Jet Minutes Before Takeoff!
DRAMA ON THE TARMAC: As Netanyahu prepped for his high-stakes meeting with Trump, the Shin Bet was busy purging the passenger list. One journalist was hauled off the plane, and he’s calling it a "total betrayal."
The luggage was in the overhead bin. The seatbelt was almost fastened. But for Nik Kolyokhin, the flight to Washington ended before the engines even started.
In a scene straight out of a political thriller, the veteran Israeli-Russian journalist was pulled aside by Shin Bet (ISA) agents just minutes before Prime Minister Netanyahu boarded the "Wing of Zion." While other reporters were prepping their cameras for the PM’s arrival, Kolyokhin was being escorted to a nearby tent for a "thorough" security sweep that felt more like an interrogation.
"They checked my things as if I had a bomb in there," Kolyokhin told ynet. "Then they told me I wasn't getting back on. They said they needed to ‘examine my connections.’"
The irony isn't lost on Kolyokhin. A veteran of the elite Yahalom engineering unit and Combat Intelligence, he served Israel on the front lines for years. After a decade-long career at Israel's Channel 2 and Channel 10, he transitioned into high-profile international freelancing, reporting for outlets in Russia, India, and Poland.
But as he stood on the tarmac, filming a segment for Russia’s Channel 1, his military record seemingly counted for nothing.
"I moved here at age nine. I served in combat. I did reserve duty until COVID," he lamented. "Now they treat me like an enemy and a second-class citizen. It’s like the Rabbinate checking the Jewishness of Soviet immigrants, b,ut this time, it’s the Shin Bet."
The Official Line: "Minimizing Risk"
What exactly triggered the alarm? The Prime Minister’s Office is staying tight-lipped, citing "security reasons that cannot be detailed at this stage."
The Shin Bet issued a cryptic statement, noting that their job is to protect the Prime Minister and the sensitive information surrounding him, making "decisions to reduce risk" based on individual cases.
But in a week where Netanyahu is meeting Trump to discuss the "monster" of the Iranian threat and secret diplomatic backchannels, the sudden removal of a reporter with deep Russian ties has sent the rumor mill into overdrive.
A Cold Reception in the Hot Seat
Kolyokhin is no stranger to the halls of power; he covered the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska and has flown on PM flights before. His sudden "un-invitation" has sparked a firestorm of debate over whether his reporting for Russian state media, at a time of heightened global tension, made him a liability in the eyes of Israeli intelligence.