An Israeli minister has decried what he described as a “terrorist” incident to kill Israelis after a flight was forced to land in Saudi Arabia when a physical altercation between the pilot and co-pilot prompted initial fears of a hijacking.
A Boeing 737 Max 8 with up to 180 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport this morning after transmitting three emergency signals, one of which indicated what is known as a possible unlawful interference. Israeli media have reported dramatic testimonies and video from people on board, with some describing passengers storming the cockpit to subdue the attacker and one of the pilots being seriously injured.
View image in fullscreenPassengers aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv told Israeli media that one of the pilots tried to crash the plane before being overpowered. Photograph: Amit SegalThe Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said the incident highlighted the need for Israel to escalate its military campaigns across the region.
“Thank God and the heroic passengers, but Israel’s security doctrine must be taken to the next level,” he wrote on X, adding that the country “must continue until achieving total victory” in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“The naive notion that our enemies value life and deserve our pity was given yet another stark reminder this morning in the form of a terrorist who planned to blow up a plane and murder the 180 Israelis on board.”
Similarly, the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that “anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them – as should any country or terrorist organisation that sent them”.
According to the Israeli Hareetz newspaper, citing an unnamed official, authorities were treating it as a “terror” incident and “believe that one of the pilots may have purposefully attempted to crash the plane”. The newspaper added that other scenarios were also being considered.
Commenting this morning, the Israeli prime minister’s office said the situation was “under control” while measures are being taken to bring the passengers to Israel. Local media reported the military had scrambled fighter jets after fears of a possible hijacking, which the prime minister’s office had ruled out shortly after the incident came to light.
In a statement, Tabuk airport said the flight that was bound for Tel Aviv landed at 9.45am local time and that its captain and co-pilot “were found to have injuries and were transported to hospital”.
FlyDubai said flight FZ 1073 “experienced an incident while en route” and that all passengers “are safe and accounted for”.
My colleague William Christou has more on the story here:
