The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) has dismissed media reports that the planned visit of Israeli Knesset members to Tbilisi was canceled due to a “potential terrorist attack.”
“Neither the Georgian nor the Israeli security services had any information about a potential terrorist attack in Georgia, and therefore had not shared such information with anyone,” the SSSG stated on December 12. “We are in contact with representatives of the Israeli security services, who expressed surprise over the incorrect information that has been disseminated,” it added.
Early on December 12, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service wrote, citing initial Israeli media reports, that the visit of several Knesset members to Tbilisi for the “Israeli Week” conference, an event designed to promote economic and diplomatic cooperation between Israeli and Georgia, scheduled for the upcoming weekend had been canceled following a security warning about a “potential terrorist attack.”
The outlet said Itsik Moshe, founder of Israeli House and president of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, confirmed the reports, adding that the lawmakers would still participate in the business forum remotely. According to RFE/RL, Moshe also said the Georgian side had been informed about the alleged threat.
“It is very unfortunate and telling that such information is being spread by parts of the Georgian media without verifying it with us,” the SSSG said, calling on everyone to refrain from spreading “unverified information harmful to Georgia.”
Later in the day, the SSSG issued another statement saying it had summoned Itsik Moshe, who told the agency he received the information about the alleged terrorist attack “from a Knesset member, who in turn had been told it by some representative of the Knesset’s Ethics Committee,” adding that he “could not identify any more specific or authoritative source for the information.”
“Asked why he had told the media that the Georgian side had been warned about the threat, Moshe denied saying this at all. He explained that he told journalists that if the threat were real, the Georgian side would certainly be notified,” the SSSG said.
In 2022, the SSSG foiled an assassination attempt targeting Itsik Moshe. According to the agency, the plot was ordered from abroad and involved Pakistani nationals and individuals with dual Georgia–Iran citizenship.
Note: This news article was updated at 17:00 to include SSSG’s second statement.
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