A dispute erupted between Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and a political official following the incident aboard a Flydubai flight and the security briefing Lapid received last night from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid sought today (Wednesday) to clarify that during his meeting with Netanyahu, he was not given any information concerning an incident similar to what occurred this morning aboard the plane that was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
“To be clear: Nothing even remotely resembling this morning’s plane incident came up in the security briefing with the Prime Minister last night. Nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint," Lapid wrote.
He attacked those who, he said, were attempting to connect the two events, adding: “The whole spin the mouthpieces are pushing now only proves what was already clear yesterday - once again, they are trying to play cheap politics at the expense of Israel’s security. An irresponsible bunch."
In response to his remarks, a political official said that while Lapid had not been briefed about the plane incident itself, he had received a warning concerning an increase in threats abroad.
“Contrary to Lapid’s remarks, the Military Secretariat briefed him last night on a significant increase in terrorist activity abroad - on a scale not seen in years," the official said.
The dispute comes one day after Netanyahu and Lapid met for a security briefing that lasted approximately half an hour. The meeting took place after Netanyahu warned during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase that Israel had indications that its enemies might attempt to launch attacks ahead of the elections.
Following the meeting, Lapid criticized the manner in which the warning had been presented to the public.
“Security threats are something that must be handled professionally and responsibly. Israel’s security and IDF bases are not backdrops for campaign videos," he said.
Lapid added at the time: “Briefings about threats should come from the professionals, from the IDF and the Shin Bet, not from the Twitter account of a politician in the middle of an election campaign."
This morning, the unusual incident occurred aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 150 Israelis on board. According to reports, the co-pilot, an Omani citizen, stabbed the captain, and indications in Israel are increasingly pointing to a terrorist attack rather than an incident stemming from mental-health circumstances.
Passengers and crew members managed to break into the cockpit and overpower the attacker. A senior Israeli official later said that “an extremely serious disaster was averted." According to Flightradar data, the aircraft plunged approximately 14,000 feet within one minute during the incident.
A distress code used to signal unlawful interference with a flight, which can indicate a hijacking, was subsequently activated aboard the aircraft. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled, and senior security officials held emergency consultations.
The plane ultimately landed in Saudi Arabia. Political officials said that Israeli forces are at the scene and that the Israeli passengers are being questioned ahead of their return to Israel.