Trump accuses Iran of attempted hijacking of Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

"Tehran is behind the hijacking of the Flydubai flight". “Yes, personally I think so.” This is how American President Donald Trump responded to those who asked him if he held Iran responsible for the attack conducted by the co-pilot of Flydubai, who tried to crash a flight bound for Tel Aviv. According to local sources, Israel was ready to shoot down FlyDubai1073 flight with all passengers on board after the Omani co-pilot attacked the captain. The fighters had taken off and were recalled as the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile the co-pilot confesses: "I wanted to avenge Gaza".

Meanwhile, the Houthis said they had struck Riyadh airport and a refinery of Saudi energy giant Aramco, as well as several sites in the south of the Kingdom. The attacks "targeted the international airport", said the military spokesman of the Yemeni rebels, Yahya Saree. Several planes have received a new warning not to land at Riyadh airport, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.

During Sunday evening's Israeli military-political cabinet, Shin Bet chief David Zini presented ministers with a specific and worrying intelligence alert: Hamas is intensifying efforts to mount a complex attack or targeted kidnapping operation. According to assessments, Hamas aims to launch the operation close to the October 27 elections or immediately thereafter.

Israeli military forces carried out an incursion into the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the West Bank, and arrested a young man after breaking into his home. The Balata camp is the largest in West Bank and is located on the outskirts of Nablus.

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Israeli sources told CBS News that Israel was prepared to shoot down Flydubai Flight 1073 with all passengers on board after the Omani co-pilot assaulted the captain, causing the fighters to take off before recalling them as the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. According to sources, as part of a protocol for a potential 9/11-like incident, the Israeli Air Force attempted to contact the cockpit after the plane took a sharp dive, but received no response. The fighter jets then took off and Israel closed its airspace, according to reports. However, the warplanes were recalled as soon as Israel realized that the plane was heading towards Saudi Arabia. The sources add that if the flight had gotten any closer, Israel would have sent planes into Jordanian airspace. The Israeli Air Force pilots would then try to get as close as possible to the cockpit in an attempt to establish visual contact and assess the situation, before doing the same to the passenger cabin to ensure there were no signs of panic among the passengers. After carrying out the check, the Israeli Air Force would update the control unit, which, according to the sources, would in turn contact the Defense Minister and the Prime Minister if the plane was hijacked and the terrorists did not respond. Ultimately, the decision to shoot down the plane would rest with the prime minister, an outcome that, according to sources cited by CBS News, would have been preferable to crashing into Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center or another "high-value target."

The agreement, signed last August, unites NATO's second largest army, Turkey, with the Islamic world's only nuclear-armed state, Pakistan, and the leading Gulf power, Saudi Arabia. Representatives of the three countries gathered in Riyadh today for an emergency meeting focused on the recent attacks against Saudi Arabia, particularly those against the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The three countries "reaffirmed their unequivocal rejection of any attack or threat against the security and territorial integrity of the Kingdom", read a joint statement in which the Houthis, supported by Iran, were not directly mentioned. The statement adds that at the meeting it was decided to "immediately move towards the practical application of collective defense commitments and take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom". The statement does not specify what kind of role the Turkish and Pakistani military forces will have once they arrive in Saudi Arabia.