Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the available evidence indicates that the Flydubai airline pilot who stabbed his colleague intended to cause the plane to crash, UNN reports, citing The Times of Israel.
"An extremely serious security incident occurred this morning," Netanyahu said in a video address from his office; it was his first public reaction to the aircraft's emergency landing.
"Almost all the passengers on this flight were Israelis," he added.
According to Netanyahu, as the plane was approaching Israel, "one of the pilots stabbed the other, and everything indicates that he was attempting to crash the plane with the passengers on board."
He said that he had spoken with one of the Israeli passengers: "He told me that the plane began descending sharply. He said that he somehow managed, together with a crew member, to break into the cockpit, and together they were able to stop the pilot just as he was attempting to damage the aircraft's systems."
After that, another crew member entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft, Netanyahu said.
"We are maintaining continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the passengers' continued safety and their safe return home," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel is also regularly assessing the situation.
According to him, the Saudi side is currently questioning the suspect.
He said that he had instructed Israel's security services to take measures to prevent similar attempts in the future.
Netanyahu "pays tribute to the heroes" who "saved many lives and displayed great courage."
"They prevented a major tragedy," he concluded.
In addition,
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the incident aboard a Flydubai aircraft today "was an attempted jihadist terrorist attack."
The co-pilot of the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight allegedly stabbed the pilot, presumably attempting to bring down the aircraft, which later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
"The serious incident aboard the Flydubai aircraft was an attempted jihadist terrorist attack that was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who entered the cockpit, overcame the terrorist, and personally returned control of the aircraft to the other crew members who were present there," Katz's statement said.
"According to the initial information available to us, the terrorist had one intention: to bring down the aircraft with all its passengers," he said.
Previously reported
A Flydubai passenger aircraft operating a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv issued a distress signal and a possible hijacking signal while flying over Saudi Arabia. Israel scrambled fighter jets.
Later, reports emerged that the pilots had fought aboard the passenger aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv and issuing distress and hijacking signals. They were of Ukrainian and Russian origin.
However, it is currently known that the pilot suspected in the incident involving the Flydubai aircraft flying to Ben Gurion Airport is of Omani origin. The other pilot is Emirati.