- Dozens of Omani pilots flew to Tel Aviv on flydubai flights despite a ban on pilots from unfriendly states
- Israeli security agency Shin Bet neglected to enforce the ban on pilots from countries without ties to Israel
- Flydubai's air crews were trusted to self-enforce the ban without thorough Shin Bet background checks
Dozens of Omani pilots have flown to Tel Aviv in recent years on flydubai flights, despite a ban on pilots from unfriendly states in a major security lapse, Israel's Channel 12 has reported. The figure reportedly emerged as part of the investigations that were opened after an apparent attack on a flydubai flight from Dubai, in which an Omani co-pilot attacked the captain with alleged intentions of harming the plane and its passengers.
The report claimed that Israeli security agency Shin Bet was negligent in enforcing a ban on pilots from states that lack relations with the Jewish state. Oman, which has not signed the Abraham Accords, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. The accords, which established diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE in 2020, bar pilots from flying into Israel if their home countries don't formally recognise the Jewish state.
According to the report, Israel has ceded oversight of that prohibition over the years, trusting the foreign airlines to enforce the ban.
Citing the investigation into the attack, Channel 12 reported that the Shin Bet security service never examined the origins of flydubai's pilots, beyond reminding the airline about the clause.
The new report has raised questions about how flydubai's air crews were approved for flights to Israel over the years, and in particular crew members who hold citizenship of countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. It was earlier reported that the attacker might also have had dual citizenship.
Israel is now trying to understand how the approval was given to those pilots, what details were provided in advance about the identities of the crew members, and whether their Omani citizenship was known to the parties that approved the flights.
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The Negligence
Israel's Transportation Ministry has said in a statement to Channel 12 that the Shin Bet never issued a specific warning regarding threats from flydubai, beyond asking for increased baggage checks.
"The Shin Bet has all the means to know, within five minutes, who all of the pilots on the Dubai airline are, and they simply chose to turn a blind eye. In Israel, they expected the airline to be reliable enough, so they didn't conduct reviews in recent years," the network quoted an anonymous airline industry official as saying.
The report further pointed out that for months the Shin Bet security service, which is responsible for protecting Israeli airlines, had been in a dispute with some Israeli carriers over their Dubai operation amid tension in the Middle East. The network said that adopting the heightened security attitude for non-Israeli airlines as well could have helped prevent the eventual attack.
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The Probe
Meanwhile, authorities in Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were continuing to probe the flydubai incident. Saudi Arabia confirmed that both the captain and copilot, who were treated for injuries in the kingdom, have been handed over to Abu Dhabi after receiving medical clearance.
They have also forwarded their initial findings to the Israeli authorities about the co-pilot carrying out the attack for alleged nationalistic reasons. The Times of Israel reported that the assessment is based on what the accused told Saudi authorities during interrogation.
According to the Times of Israel report, Israel's spy agency Mossad, along with Shin Bet, are working to investigate whether the copilot acted alone or on behalf of a terror group.
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UAE's Contention
However, Channel 12 also reported that the UAE is apparently furious with Tel Aviv for rushing to conclude it was a nationalistic attack even before the investigation was concluded. Abu Dhabi is reportedly insisting that it will handle the further investigation itself.
While the UAE hasn't ruled out a nationalistic motive behind the attack, it is waiting to draw a definitive conclusion at this stage, the network said.
Even as the ambiguity still exists on the motive behind the flydubai incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been quick to frame the attack as the almost inevitable outcome of the "propaganda" he says continues to vilify Israel. Netanyahu has publicly claimed that the attacker "underwent Islamist radical indoctrination."
For a politician who has long portrayed himself as the only leader capable of truly defending Israel from the threats he claims the country faces, the attempted hijacking arguably bolsters Netanyahu's narrative ahead of a pivotal parliamentary election later this month that will determine whether he remains Israel's leader.
