Netanyahu on Flydubai Claims, caveats and checks

Oct 1

In his complete Fox & Friends appearance, Benjamin Netanyahu recounts the Flydubai cockpit attack and passenger intervention. He says the attacker underwent radical Islamist indoctrination and asked to be killed after restraint, but corrects his initial certainty about a crash attempt to likelihood and says no final conclusion has been reached. Asked about shouted religious slogans, he says he does not know what was said before restraint and reports no such account. He credits Yaniv and other passengers with removing the attacker, pulling the controls, restraining him with headphone cords, treating the wounded Indian captain and calming passengers; off-duty pilots then helped land the aircraft. He describes serious head and arm wounds and praises the rescuers' teamwork. Netanyahu acknowledges a loophole in restrictions on pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel and pledges advance screening and tighter security with Emirati cooperation. He cites alleged Iranian/proxy threats during the election season and recalls asking Israelis to be alert, but says the weapon, radicalization source, Iranian connection and Omani cooperation remain unresolved. Recalling his airport meeting the previous day, he says he asked a rescuer's wife to preserve the bloodstained clothes. He recounts Sultan Qaboos's invitation to Muscat with his wife, characterizes that visit as related to Gulf normalization and speculates Oman might have joined the Abraham Accords had Qaboos lived; he calls the succeeding leadership standoffish. Correcting Brian Kilmeade, he says he did not participate at Entebbe: his brother led the rescue and was its sole military casualty. He separately recalls being wounded while his unit, disguised as mechanics, stormed a hijacked Belgian aircraft in Israel after a prisoner-release threat. Asked how close Israel came to intercepting the Flydubai aircraft, he declines details and discusses the difficult decisions posed by unidentified passenger aircraft.

In his October 1, 2026 Fox & Friends interview, Netanyahu acknowledges that an Omani pilot passed through restrictions on Israel-bound pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel. He calls this a screening loophole, says it is being addressed with full Emirati cooperation and pledges to tighten security after the investigation. He says replacement-flight pilots taking passengers from Saudi Arabia were background-checked. In the same response he cites indications of Iranian/proxy threats during the election season and recalls asking Israelis to be especially alert. His pledge does not establish a completed new screening regime or Iranian responsibility for the cockpit incident.