The head of the Republic of Dagestan Sergei Melikov commented on the anti-Semitic gathering in Khasavyurt and the rally in support of Palestine in Makhachkala, which took place on the evening of October 28. He posted the post on his Telegram channel.
“In this difficult time for all of us, those who do not share our feelings are trying to take advantage of what is happening, but are only trying to benefit — to shake up the situation in our country. The events of Saturday evening in Makhachkala and Khasavyurt are a vivid example of this. What happened? Extremist resources, administered by the enemies of Russia (!), far from Dagestan and even more so from Islam, spread militant calls, to which, unfortunately, some hotheads responded,” Melikov wrote.
According to him, “the incident does not in any way paint any color on those who succumbed to provocations and allowed themselves to be manipulated,” and “due to the fakes spread by the enemies, very young guys found themselves on the verge of breaking the law.” The head of Dagestan added that in all the mosques of the republic “today they are praying for the people of Palestine, for the souls of the innocent dead old people, women and children, so that the bloodshed will be stopped as soon as possible.”
Melikov noted “the prompt and professional work of employees of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs and municipal authorities, thanks to whom it was possible to quickly correct the misunderstanding that arose” and called on them to carry out “thorough actions to detect and neutralize the destructive forces that are pushing our guys to violate public order.»
The day before, residents of Khasavyurt staged a gathering near the Flamingo Hotel after reports that “refugees from Israel” were allegedly being housed in the establishment. As “Emergency Dagestan” wrote, on the afternoon of October 28, local residents noticed near the hotel “a face similar in appearance to an Israeli citizen” — a man in a gray suit and with a long beard.
In the evening, “concerned residents” gathered near the hotel, which required the guests to go to the windows to look at them. When the guests did not do this, stones were thrown into the building, the telegram channel reported.
Police officers also came to the Flamingo and allowed several people from the crowd to enter the hotel to make sure that there were no Jews there. After this, those gathered decided to also inspect the Kiev Hotel, where they also did not find any Israeli citizens. The Telegram channel «ChP Kavkaz» reported that after the gathering, a notice was posted near the Flamingo Hotel stating that Jews do not live there and they are prohibited from entering.
Reports that refugees allegedly arrived in Khasavyurt from Israel, including those published in the “Morning Dagestan” telegram channel. This channel was “helped” to be launched by ex-State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who left for Ukraine, as part of his “Morning of February” project.
On the evening of October 16, several dozen people gathered at the building of the government of Dagestan in Makhachkala for a rally in support of Palestine, however, the meeting was dispersed by security forces. At least 16 people were taken to the police department in the Sovetsky district of Makhachkala. The local publication Novoye Delo reported that several young people were given summonses to the military registration and enlistment office.