Netanyahu says it is early to implicate Iran in the attempt to crash the Tel Aviv plane

BarcelonaIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that it is "too early" to draw conclusions about who is behind Wednesday's incident on a FlyDubai flight in which the co-pilot stabbed the captain in order to crash the plane, with 174 people on board. For the moment, Netanyahu is showing more caution than Defense Minister Israel Katz, who claimed the incident had been "a jihadist terrorist attack attempt", and the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, who also described the events as a "terrorist attack," without attributing responsibility for it.

Netanyahu's words came after he was asked in an interview with Fox News if there was any indication of Iranian involvement in the incident. The Israeli prime minister noted that Saudi Arabia—where the plane made an emergency landing—is still investigating the facts. "We will get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, and whether Iran is behind it. I think we will find out very soon," stated Netanyahu, who indicated that Israel will "possibly" also participate in the investigation.

Despite considering it too early to point to terrorist motives, Netanyahu did link the incident to "propaganda against Israel" and asserted that it was an episode "of fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level." All this comes less than a month before Israelis head to the polls for the October 27th legislative elections, in a context of multiple controversies and criticisms directed at the prime minister. Among them is the public's fatigue over the open military fronts and the possible warning from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt regarding the October 7th Hamas attacks that the Israeli leader allegedly disregarded.

The plane's attacker is being investigated in Saudi Arabia, but the Israeli prime minister said he believes he will be transferred to the United Arab Emirates, which has also opened an investigation into the events because the plane was registered in that country.

Investigating a possible "terrorist purpose"

The Public Prosecution of the United Arab Emirates has reported that they are investigating "whether the incident is related to any terrorist activity or purpose, or whether it involved prior planning or direction". The country's judicial authorities have legal power to investigate the incident because the aircraft was flying under its flag, they noted in a statement, while emphasizing that the law of the United Arab Emirates also applies to crimes committed on board, even when they occur outside the country's borders.

The pilot who was injured in the incident is "stable", according to the Embassy of India –where he is from– in Riyadh. The pilot is admitted to the Tabuk Hospital, the city in the northeast of Saudi Arabia where the plane made an emergency landing. Both Netanyahu and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, have praised him: Modi has considered him a "hero" and the Israeli Prime Minister has highlighted that "he saved the lives of 174 people".

Following the incident, FlyDubai has suspended all flights originating from and destined for Israel while an investigation is underway. This temporary suspension, the company has pointed out, "will allow the competent authorities to continue their work and clarify all the facts related to the incident". For its part, the airline Emirates has suspended "with immediate effect and until further notice" the codeshare flights with FlyDubai to Israel.

Israel will decorate the "civil heroes"

After Netanyahu received this Wednesday the passenger from the flight who, together with other men, immobilized the co-pilot who attacked his cockpit colleague, the Israeli prime minister praised his "heroism" for "avoiding another 9/11". The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, went further and proposed awarding the Civil Heroism medal to four passengers who intervened during the incident.

These are three passengers who entered the plane's cockpit to immobilize the attacker, who had stabbed his colleague, and a doctor who attended to the wounded pilot. "At a moment when people were in danger, you acted without hesitation, with courage and resolution and an extraordinary mutual responsibility," highlighted Herzog.