Netanyahu: Saudis questioning flydubai suspect involved in ‘extremely serious security incident’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Netanyahu: Saudis questioning flydubai suspect involved in ‘extremely serious security incident’")
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing for more possible security threats after flydubai incident. Photograph: (X)
PM Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli passengers who intervened and helped salvage the situation. He said one of the Israeli passengers broke into the cockpit along with a crewmember and managed to neutralise the threat of the attacking pilot.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Wednesday that the evidence indicates that the flydubai pilot who stabbed his fellow pilot intended to crash the plane and called the development an “extremely serious security incident”.
“This morning there was an extremely serious security incident. Almost all of the passengers on the flight were Israelis,” said Netanyahu in his first public response to the emergency landing.
Netanyahu added that as the plane drew close to Israel, “one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and all indications show that he tried to crash the plane along with its passengers.”
The PM said that he spoke to an Israeli passenger. “He told me that the plane went into a dive. He told me that somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they managed to stop the pilot while he was attempting to damage the plane’s systems.”
“All passengers are out of danger. The pilot who stabbed has been arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities. We are in close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers and their safe return to Israel,” he said.
“We are in continuous contact with the relevant authorities to guarantee the continued safety of the passengers and their safe return home,” says Netanyahu, adding that Israel is also carrying out regular situational assessments.
The Saudis are interrogating the suspect, he said, while adding that he instructed Israel’s security services to take measures to prevent similar attempts in the future.
‘Israel preparing for more possible security threats’
Netanyahu said that Israel is “preparing for more possible security threats” after a pilot on a flydubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel may have purposefully attempted to crash the plane.
Incidentally, Netanyahu had on Tuesday warned that “enemies” could try to attack before the October 27 election.
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Netanyahu also praised the Israeli passengers who intervened proactively and helped salvage the situation, saying he “salutes the heroes” who “saved many lives and displayed great bravery and prevented a serious tragedy.”
The prime minister said that one of the Israeli passengers broke into the cockpit along with a crewmember and managed to neutralise the threat of the attacking pilot while another crewmember stabilised the plane.
“I salute these heroes who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” Netanyahu said. “They saved many lives; they averted a major disaster. The plane landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.”
A ‘jihadist terror attack', says Defence Minister
Defence Minister Israel Katz also issued a statement on Wednesday, calling the flydubai incident a terror attack.
“The incident on the flydubai plane was an attempted jihadist attack which was only foiled thanks to the heroism of a number of Israeli passengers,” Katz said.
He said the Israelis eliminated the threat and handed the cockpit over to an alternate team of pilots on the plane.
“According to the initial information we have, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane,” Katz said.
