Albania Is In Flames - Then The Secret Israel Deal Dropped

Right, so Albania’s government signed a new agreement with Israel on 12 October all while Prime Minister Edi Rama had already been facing months of protests, which have of course in the days since that signing, got dramatically worse, so it’s quite the moment to announce relations with Israel were reaching their highest ever point. Outside government, people have been rather less impressed with how things were going, I don’t know if burning down the Supreme Court might have been a big enough hint though. Of course, the anger didn’t begin with this agreement, but then Israel wasn’t exactly too far away from this part of the story either. It began around luxury resort developments associated with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, because apparently marrying into that family doesn’t provide quite enough opportunities to acquire more things. There were proposals for Sazan island and the mainland coast near Zvërnec, raising objections about protected landscapes, public access and who was getting to decide what happened to them. Now, you can understand the appeal if you’re looking for an exclusive Mediterranean holiday. It’s a slightly different proposition if you live there and discover that your country’s exciting new future is being negotiated without you knowing enough about the terms. People wanted answers. The demonstrations continued. Opposition to the developments grew into demands for Rama to resign, which is where we are now.