Analyst Questions Flydubai Incident Near Tel Aviv, Citing 11 Discrepancies

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, strategic affairs analyst Abdel Bari Atwan, in an article published on the Rai al-Youm website, presented a series of arguments suggesting that the incident involving a Flydubai aircraft bound for Tel Aviv was a meticulously planned “show” by Israeli intelligence agencies.

Atwan expressed that the true objectives behind this scenario remain unclear, asserting that the Israeli account of the event is rife with contradictory and simplistic falsehoods. Chief among these is the claim of an altercation in the cockpit between the pilot and co-pilot, during which the co-pilot allegedly attacked the pilot with a knife, leading to bleeding and an attempted crash of the aircraft with its 174 occupants. This narrative further suggests that passengers intervened to thwart the plan.

Atwan outlined eleven reasons he believes point to Israeli intelligence services orchestrating this event:

1. Initially, it was reported that the pilot was of Russian descent and the attacking co-pilot Ukrainian. This account was later altered, stating the pilot was Emirati and the co-pilot Omani. Subsequently, it was further revised to claim the pilot was Indian and the co-pilot was Omani.
2. To date, there has been no official statement from Saudi Arabia, the country where the aircraft reportedly made an emergency landing, the co-pilot was detained, and the injured pilot received medical attention.
3. Why did the aircraft leave Jordanian airspace, where it was when the incident occurred, to land at Tabuk International Airport in Saudi Arabia? Tabuk Airport is not far from Israel’s Eilat Airport, Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh Airport, or Aqaba Airport.
4. Is it coincidental that two Israeli pilots specializing in this aircraft type, along with a medical team, were among the passengers?
5. The cockpit door cannot be opened from the outside. The flimsy Israeli narrative claims the injured pilot got up and opened the door to passengers who stormed the cockpit. At this point, where was the stronger, uninjured co-pilot, and why did he not intervene?
6. The Israeli narrative named the Indian pilot as “Smith Mashar,” but the Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to destroy the aircraft has not been identified by name.
7. Miri Regev, Israel’s Transport Minister, expressed surprise at the presence of an Omani co-pilot in the cockpit, stating it contradicted the agreement between Israel and the UAE, which prohibits the hiring of pilots or co-pilots from countries not allied with Israel for Flydubai flights between the UAE and Israel. This implies the co-pilot was not Omani.
8. Netanyahu had warned of potential pre-election attacks in Israel two days prior. This suggests he was aware of the plot and possibly confident of its success in downing the aircraft, intending to use it as a pretext for potential aggression against Iran and to delay elections.
9. Israel’s Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, asserted that the aircraft was targeted by a terrorist attack. Where are the weapons, ammunition, and explosives used in this operation?
10. How did the supposedly heroic Israeli passenger and his accompanying team manage to enter the cockpit at a speed of 15,000 feet per second, open the door, take control of the aircraft, detain the co-pilot, and restrain him?
11. The passenger who claimed to have saved the aircraft, welcomed by Netanyahu, and interviewed by Israeli media detailing his alleged heroic actions, stated he was not a pilot and learned piloting from videos!

Atwan highlighted the Israeli record of fabricating narratives, particularly concerning the October 7th events and alleged atrocities against women and children. He concluded that such actors would not hesitate to stage a “terrorist” attack against the Emirati aircraft to use it as a pretext for further war crimes.