Lapid denied discussing flydubai incident — Jerusalem Post

In Israel, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the incident on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv was not mentioned during a security briefing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the evening of September 29. On September 30, the plane, carrying more than 100 Israeli passengers, changed course and landed in Saudi Arabia after an alleged attempt by one of the pilots to seize control of the aircraft, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Lapid’s statement

According to Lapid, nothing resembling the morning aircraft incident was discussed at the meeting with Netanyahu. He also accused the prime minister’s allies and supporters of trying to link the event to Netanyahu’s warnings about possible attacks on Israel ahead of the Knesset elections.

Israeli officials said that a major catastrophe had been avoided. According to reports, Israeli passengers helped restrain the person suspected of attempting to hijack the plane.

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Officials’ reactions

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for responding to intentions rather than only to consequences and said that not only the suspect, but also the state or terrorist organization that may have sent him, should be held accountable. At the same time, there is currently no evidence that the suspect had support from a foreign entity.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared an unverified C14 report claiming that the pilot had allegedly planned an attack similar to the September 11 attacks. The suspect’s motives had not been established at the time of publication. Democrats party leader Yair Golan thanked the passengers for actions that, in his assessment, helped save lives.