The Israeli government assesses that the incident that occurred on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals this Wednesday (30), was an attempted terrorist attack.
"The naive notion that our enemies value life and that we should pity them received another reminder this morning, in the form of a terrorist who planned to shoot down a plane and murder the 180 Israelis on board," said Israel's National Security Minister, extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir.
According to Reuters, which interviewed two Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, one of the pilots had tried to shoot down the plane. According to them, the co-pilot stabbed the commander before the crew entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft. An official previously told Reuters that the plane transmitted emergency signals after the pilots got into a physical confrontation.
Around the time the plane landed in Saudi Arabia, Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister's office, told Reuters that the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, describing it as a "different incident".
He did not immediately respond to a further request for comment on whether Israel was treating the case as a terrorist incident.
The two officials said Israel's current assessment is that the incident was an attempted "terrorist attack" and was not related to any type of mental health problem for either pilot.
FLIGHT CAME DOWN BEFORE STABILIZING AGAIN
Flydubai flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv and was diverted to Saudi Arabia while flying over Jordanian airspace. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft first emitted a general emergency signal and then another that indicated possible illicit interference.
Tracking data shows the Boeing 737 lost nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) of altitude in less than 30 seconds before the first alert. The plane again issued the general emergency signal before landing safely at Tabuk airport, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
According to the Israeli press, there were around 150 passengers on board, most of them Israelis. It is unclear who activated the emergency signals.
In a video allegedly taken by an Israeli passenger on board the flight and widely circulated in the Israeli press, the passenger said that one of the pilots was seriously injured and the other suffered minor injuries after one of them was stabbed.
Tabuk airport said both pilots were hospitalized. Neither the airport nor the alleged passenger identified who was responsible for the attack.
DIVERGENT REPORTS ARISE IN THE PRESS
The Israeli press published conflicting reports about the incident, and some outlets reported that a pilot had tried to shoot down the passenger plane in an alleged suicide attempt. Some Israeli media outlets identified the pilots as citizens of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, while others said they were Russian and Ukrainian.
The incident triggered national security consultations in Israel, which does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed.
In a statement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office said the situation was "under control" and that all measures were being taken to bring Israeli passengers back to Israel.
The prime minister canceled the remaining appointments on his agenda this Wednesday to monitor the crisis, according to an Israeli official.
The episode comes just days after Netanyahu met with the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during a rare visit to the Gulf country.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have expanded cooperation in the areas of security, defense and economics since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020. Earlier this year, Israel provided the United Arab Emirates with Iron Dome air defense systems and Israeli personnel to operate them, helping to defend against Iranian attacks launched in retaliation for Israeli and United States offensives against Iran.
The UAE has not yet commented on the incident. Flydubai only stated that the flight encountered an "incident", was diverted to Tabuk and landed safely. According to the company, all passengers were safe and had been located.
PASSENGER REPORTS SCENE OF VIOLENCE IN THE CABIN
Yasmin Abukasis said her daughter Miriam, who was among the passengers on the flight, told her she heard screams and saw a man armed with a knife force one of the pilots to the ground, and that there was blood everywhere.
Israeli media published a photo allegedly taken inside the plane, which appeared to show a passenger's shirt soaked in blood. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the image.
Flydubai operates daily return flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, a popular route for Israeli citizens. The route normally crosses the airspace of Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
