Netanyahu Orders Flight Security Review After Flydubai Attack Attempt

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a security review of international flights to Israel on October 4, following an attempted crash of a Flydubai aircraft. On September 30, an Omani co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the Indian captain and attempted to crash the plane on Israeli territory. The incident has triggered a political dispute over how a pilot from a country with no diplomatic ties to Israel was cleared for the flight.

Internal documents from the National Security Council of Israel reveal systemic security failures that preceded the attack. In mid-2025, Netanyahu and Transport Minister Miri Regev finalized the transfer of security responsibility for foreign flights and crew screening from the Shin Bet to the Transportation Ministry. This move occurred despite strong opposition from the ministry's own Security Division, which argued it lacked the budget, authority, and tools to manage the task. The National Security Council of Israel had warned as early as March 2025 that the Transportation Ministry was failing to ensure foreign airlines complied with international agreements.

While the Transportation Ministry is cited as the primary failure, reports indicate the Shin Bet and Mossad contributed by relinquishing responsibility despite knowing the ministry was in disarray. Minister Regev has since attributed security oversight for foreign airlines to the Mossad and Shin Bet. In response, opposition leader Yair Lapid dismissed the security review as a "sham investigation," and political challenger Gadi Eisenkot called for Regev's resignation ahead of the October 27 election.