The incident is being probed as a possible attempted terrorist attack
The Daily Mail also reported that a source described as a colleague expressed regret over the airline’s decision to have the man on the flight, saying the incident had nearly resulted in the deaths of those onboard.
Israeli authorities have said they were investigating whether the incident constituted an attempted terror attack, while the motive had not been immediately established. Machchhar was hospitalised in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, while the alleged attacker was taken into Saudi custody. The incident is being probed as a possible attempted terrorist attack, while the alleged attacker, an Omani national, has been taken into custody by Saudi authorities. The motive remains unclear, but reports cited a fellow pilot who described the man as displaying what he considered unusually strict religious behaviour. The reports did not establish that the man’s religious practices were themselves evidence of a motive for the attack. The report quoted the source as questioning how the Omani national had been assigned to a flight bound for Israel. The aircraft eventually made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.