An Arab with Israeli citizenship attempted to hijack an El Al airliner last night, planning to ram the plane into a Tel Aviv building. He was tackled to the ground by two plainclothes security guards while trying to storm the plane's cockpit, and the 170 passengers aboard flight #581 from Tel Aviv landed safely at their destination - Istanbul, Turkey. The alleged would-be hijacker is Tawfik Fukara, 23, of a Galilee village 15 kilometers west of Tiberias.
An investigation is underway to determine how Fukara managed to board the plane with the small knife with which he may have threatened a stewardess before charging towards the cockpit. He was arrested by Turkish officials, whom he told that his dream was to imitate the World Trade Center attack in Tel Aviv. He will soon be turned over to Israeli security personnel. Meanwhile, Israel Police searched his home today and turned over their findings to the GSS. Fukara has no previous criminal record.