Netanyahu: Attacker on Flydubai flight was Islamist radicalized

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the suspected attacker on board the Flydubai plane was radicalized in Islamist ways.

“We know that he was indoctrinated as an Islamist radical,” Netanyahu said on Thursday in an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News. In addition, the man was apparently at risk of suicide.

The co-pilot acted with the intention of killing himself and shouted “Kill me, kill me” to the crew, the Prime Minister said. “It is clear that he intended to crash the plane.”

The head of government explained that the combination of the psychological state and the radicalization provides a clear indication of the motive. However, conclusive findings are not yet available. Israel is cooperating with the United Arab Emirates in the investigation.

In the incident on Wednesday on Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the co-pilot from Oman attacked the Indian captain Smit Machchhar with a knife and apparently wanted to crash the jet. Passengers were able to overpower the co-pilot. A replacement crew on board then landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu said he did not want to speculate about the man's possible connections to Iran or other actors. "I think it's too early to say whether he had ties to Iran or others," he said. However, he expects to gain clarity on this in a few days.