Opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid said on Wednesday that the possibility of an attempted hijacking of a plane carrying Israeli passengers, such as of the Wednesday flydubai flight, had not been mentioned, even indirectly, during the security briefing he received from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night.
“I want to make this clear. Nothing even resembling the aircraft incident this morning appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night. Nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint,” Lapid said.
His comments came in response to attempts by Netanyahu’s political allies and supporters to portray the incident as vindication of the prime minister’s warnings a day earlier about possible attacks on Israel ahead of the Knesset election.
“All the spin the mouthpieces are putting out now only proves what was already clear yesterday: They are once again trying to play cheap politics at the expense of Israel’s security. A reckless bunch,” Lapid said.
Lapid issued the statement following the incident aboard a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight carrying over 100 Israeli passengers, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia after an apparent attempt by one of the pilots to seize control of the aircraft.
Israeli officials said a major disaster had been averted, and Israeli passengers were reportedly among those who helped subdue the suspected attacker.
Prime minister, Katz claim flydubai hijacking proves Netanyahu's earlier warnings
The Prime Minister's Office issued a response claiming that he had been informed of a "significant increase in hostile terrorist activity around the world, on a scale not seen in years."
Later, Defense Minister Israel Katz emboldened the prime minister's claim, stating he and Netanyahu had "issued security warnings and alerts based on intelligence," and that "everyone would do well to listen and take them seriously, both our enemies abroad and the uninformed former officials at home."
“Every warning has several audiences and objectives. Most importantly, the warnings never come at the expense of the proactive and offensive operations that we are leading together with the IDF against every threat, nor are they a substitute for them,” he stated.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar added that Lapid's "dismissal" of Netanyahu's warnings was similar to how "The heads of the security establishment did the same on the night of October 7, those who were appointed by Lapid and his partners in the previous government.”