Netanyahu orders safety review of international flights after attempted downing of plane by Flydubai co-pilot

The Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, ordered this Sunday (4) a review of the safety of international flights to the country, following the attempt by a co-pilot from the company Flydubai to shoot down a plane that was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu "instructed the head of the National Security Council, Shmuel Ben Ezra, to appoint a person responsible to carry out a thorough analysis of all security aspects of foreign civil aviation destined for Israel," according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

Calls are growing in Israel for an investigation into the security breach that allowed the co-pilot, from Oman, to injure the Indian flight commander and try to shoot down the aircraft on Wednesday (30).

The local press reported that the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft in Israeli territory.

Criticism has focused on how a pilot from a country without diplomatic relations with Israel was given authorization to operate a flight bound for Tel Aviv.

Transport Minister Miri Regev rejected responsibility for the failure, saying that oversight of the safety of flights operated by foreign airlines is the responsibility of the Mossad and the Shin Bet, Israel's external and internal intelligence services.

A 2024 report by the State Comptroller found that there was no clear division of responsibilities for the safety of foreign airlines operating in Israel and recommended that the government address the issue.

According to reports in the Israeli press, pilots from countries hostile to Israel have repeatedly flown to the country in recent years.

Keren Terner, former director-general of the Ministry of Transport and current opposition parliamentary candidate, blamed Regev for the security failure, noting that the Civil Aviation Authority was under the "direct subordination" of her ministry.

"You are responsible for the security of foreign companies. Not the Shin Bet, not the Mossad. You. That's what the government decided and that's what the law dictates," Terner wrote in X.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called Netanyahu's announcement of a security review a "sham investigation."

“The sequence of failures that preceded the incident could have led to a catastrophe of historic proportions, and this is how an Israeli prime minister reacts?” Lapid wrote in X.

"Just as Netanyahu escaped an investigation into the October 7 massacre, now he escapes again," he added.

Gadi Eisenkot, one of Netanyahu's main opponents ahead of the October 27 elections, wrote in X that, "in a proper and functional government, the Minister of Transport would have submitted a letter of resignation last night."