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Ultra-Orthodox arms dealer faces extradition to US

Israel's Supreme Court has rejected Eli Cohen's appeal to stop his extradition to the United States for violating sanctions against Iran after a long history of evading prosecution for such offenses.
Eli Cohen, (R) and Avihai Weinstein, (L), sit handcuffed at the magistrates court in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva February 2. The court on Wednesday extended the detention of the two Israelis arrested on suspicion of selling large amounts of military equipment to Iran.

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Israel’s Supreme Court has confirmed that 66-year-old ultra-Orthodox Israeli Eli Cohen will be extradited to the United States. Cohen was convicted by an American court of engaging in the forbidden sale of military equipment to Iran. According to the indictment, on two occasions in 2012 and 2013, Cohen sold spare parts for fighter jets, knowing that their final destination was Iran. He was accused of violating the ban on selling weapons to Iran, selling military spare parts without a license and conspiring to launder money, though he denied knowing that the equipment was intended to go to Iran.

Cohen’s story is incredible. He grew up in the central Israeli city of Netanya, was raised in the religious Zionist movement, served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces' Combat Engineering Corps and was wounded in the War of Attrition. He was later part of the team that developed the Merkava tank. In 1989, he founded a company that acquired and refurbished used military equipment for export overseas, with the permission of Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

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