
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office ruled out the hijacking of the Flydubai plane heading from the UAE to Israel, which changed its course and landed in Saudi Arabia after sending emergency and distress signals.
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A Flydubai plane changed its course towards Saudi Arabia after sending distress and emergency signals during its flight from the UAE to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday that the change in the course of a Flydubai plane, which was heading from the UAE to Israel towards Saudi Arabia, is not believed to be the result of a hijacking.
Three Israeli security officials had told Reuters that Netanyahu was conducting consultations regarding the plane that changed its course during its trip to Israel.
This coincided with the pilot changing the course of the plane, which entered Jordanian airspace and then changed its course towards Saudi Arabia, according to a BBC Arabic correspondent in Jerusalem.
The plane landed in Saudi Arabia, while Israeli media quoted security sources as saying that the emergency was due to an argument between two pilots on board the flight.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Chief of Staff conducted “an assessment of the situation with the participation of the Air Force Commander, the Chief of Operations, the Chief of the Intelligence Authority, and other leaders,” according to Israeli army spokeswoman Ella Wawiyah, without providing further details.
Israeli media reported that the plane, carrying more than 150 people, sent a distress signal before changing its course over Saudi Arabia, prompting the Israeli Air Force to send two fighters towards it.
According to flight tracking data reported by The Times of Israel, the plane initially sent code 7700, which indicates a general emergency, before later sending code 7500, used to indicate the hijacking of an aircraft or illegal interference in its operation.
Earlier, Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an Israeli security source as saying that there was no confirmed information about the plane being hijacked, indicating that its pilot activated a distress signal.
The reasons for declaring a state of emergency or changing the plane’s course are not yet clear, pending its landing in Saudi Arabia and the emergence of more information regarding the incident.

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A Flydubai plane diverted its course and landed in Saudi Arabia, following a quarrel between the pilots and sending an emergency code, raising suspicions that it had been hijacked during a flight from the Emirates to Israel.

A violent clash between two pilots caused a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv to be diverted and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, while Tehran awaits an American response regarding the proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian warnings.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that changing the course of the Flydubai plane coming from the UAE to Israel towards Saudi Arabia is not believed to be a hijacking, after the plane sent emergency and distress signals.

A Flydubai plane heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv to Saudi Arabia was diverted following an emergency call, amid Israeli confirmation that it was not a kidnapping, but rather an internal incident involving the staff, which prompted the Prime Minister to hold security consultations and take off fighter jets.