Netanyahu points to a "radical Islamist indoctrination" of the pilot of the flight to Tel Aviv

BarcelonaAfter some initial caution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted this Thursday that the pilot accused of attempting to crash a flight heading to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, which was carrying mostly Israeli citizens, underwent a process of "radical Islamist indoctrination." He stated this in an interview with Fox News, in which he also hinted at a possible role for Iran in the episode that is being investigated as an attempted attack.

Without providing any evidence linking the incident to Tehran, Netanyahu asserted: "We will get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices and whether Iran is behind it. I believe we will find out very soon," he predicted, adding that Israel will "possibly" also participate in the investigation. Hours earlier, the Israeli leader argued that it was still "too early" to draw conclusions about who is behind the incident, although on Wednesday morning, shortly after the incident, Defense Minister Israel Katz had already stated that the events had been "an attempted jihadist terrorist attack". Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, also described it as a "terrorist attack," without attributing responsibility.

Netanyahu has linked the incident to "anti-Israel propaganda" and has assured 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 in the October 27 legislative elections, in a context of multiple controversies and criticisms against the prime minister. Among them, the public's exhaustion with the open military fronts and the possible warning from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt regarding the October 7 Hamas attacks that the Israeli leader allegedly ignored.

Investigating a possible "terrorist purpose"

The plane attacker is being investigated in Saudi Arabia, but the Israeli prime minister has said that 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 the country.

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 if it involved prior planning or direction". The country's judicial authorities have legal power to investigate the incident because the plane was flying under its flag, they noted in a statement, while remarking 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 Indian embassy—where he is from—in Riyadh. He is admitted to the Tabuk Hospital, the city in northeastern Saudi Arabia where the plane made an emergency landing. Both Netanyahu and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, have praised him: Modi has deemed 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 to and from Israel while an investigation is underway. This temporary suspension, the company noted, "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" flights with code-sharing with FlyDubai to Israel.

Starting this Friday, Israelis who have been left stranded in the United Arab Emirates will be repatriated by Israeli airlines. The route connecting Dubai with Tel-Aviv is one of the most frequented by Israelis in the region, and in recent months, despite the war in Iran, the frequency has been maintained at 20 daily flights.

Israel will decorate the "civilian 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 "preventing another 9/11". The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, went further and proposed awarding the Civil Heroism medal to five 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, a doctor who attended to the injured pilot, and a person who helped stabilize the plane when it had already lost more than 15,000 feet of altitude in just two minutes. "At a time when people were in danger, you acted without hesitation, with courage and resolution and an extraordinary mutual responsibility," Herzog highlighted.