A plane, carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal.
Channel 12 reported that the Transportation Ministry and its Center for Aviation Security Operations, which was established in recent years to oversee and monitor the entry of flight crews, will be examined as part of the investigation. Channel 12 reported that applying similarly strict security measures to foreign airlines could potentially have helped prevent Wednesday’s incident Although that decision involved Israeli airlines rather than foreign carriers.
Israel’s Transportation Ministry said the Shin Bet had not issued a specific warning about flydubai, apart from requesting increased baggage checks, according to the report. Israeli passengers, the captain and other pilots on board intervened, allowing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Most of the passengers were Israeli and were later flown from Saudi Arabia to Israel. The incident has prompted authorities to examine how flight crews from foreign airlines are cleared to enter Israel.
Investigation points to possible terror motive
Channel 12 said that assessment was based on information from two Israeli sources familiar with the Saudi investigation.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Thursday that the Omani first officer “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination. Initial information shared with Israeli authorities reportedly suggested that the co-pilot may have attacked for nationalist reasons, raising the possibility that the incident was treated as a terror attack. The assessment was reportedly based partly on statements the co-pilot made to Saudi investigators, along with other information gathered during the probe.