MWE Correspondent
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused government-aligned figures of using the emergency involving a Flydubai passenger aircraft for political purposes, arguing that the incident should not be linked to a security briefing he received from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier.
Lapid made the remarks on Wednesday after Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following a serious incident on board. The aircraft landed safely, with passengers and crew ultimately accounted for.
The opposition leader said nothing resembling the aircraft incident had been discussed during his security meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday evening.
“הוא קובע סדר יום”
—
אתם אמיתיים?
אתם באמת חושבים שזה טוב לו?
סדר יום שבו אף ישראלי אינו בטוח לא משנה איפה הוא בעולם?
סדר יום שבו יוצאים מנתב”ג לא מתפקד, המזוודות לא מגיעות, ואז המטוס שלך כמעט מתרסק?
סדר יום שבו לשכת ראש הממשלה עפה על עצמה מרוב התלהבות כי ישראלים כמעט נהרגו?
סדר…— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 30, 2026
“Nothing even resembling this morning’s plane incident appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night,” Lapid said, adding that there had been “nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint.”
Lapid also accused voices aligned with the government of attempting to connect the two events and described the political response as “cheap politics” at the expense of Israel’s security. His comments came after Netanyahu had warned of possible attacks against Israel ahead of the country’s October 27 election.
The Flydubai incident involved an apparent attack in the cockpit. According to Israeli authorities and reports cited by international media, the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain, after which passengers and crew members intervened. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Investigations involving authorities in several countries are continuing to establish the motive and circumstances surrounding the incident.
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Netanyahu subsequently described the episode as a serious security incident and said the co-pilot had apparently attempted to crash the aircraft. Israeli officials have raised concerns about the security implications of the incident, including questions surrounding the vetting of flight crews.
The political dispute intensified after government-linked figures sought to draw a connection between Netanyahu’s warning and the Flydubai incident. A political official, however, disputed Lapid’s characterization, saying he had been briefed about a significant increase in terrorist activity abroad, although not specifically about an incident involving the aircraft.
מבהיר. שום דבר שדומה אפילו לאירוע המטוס הבוקר לא הופיע בעדכון הבטחוני עם ראש הממשלה אמש. לא דומה, לא מזכיר, אפילו לא ברמז.
כל הסיבוב שהשופרות עושים עכשיו, רק מוכיח מה שהיה ברור כבר אתמול – שהם שוב מנסים לעשות פוליטיקה זולה על חשבון בטחון ישראל. חבורה מופקרת.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 30, 2026
The disagreement has therefore developed into two separate issues: the investigation into what happened aboard the Flydubai aircraft and the political dispute over how Netanyahu’s earlier security warning should be interpreted.
For Israeli authorities, the aviation incident has raised questions about aviation security and the potential risks posed by threats originating within an aircraft crew. For the opposition, meanwhile, the episode has become another point of contention over the use of national security warnings in the highly charged political environment ahead of the election.
With investigations still underway, the precise motive behind the incident and whether it was connected to a wider security threat remain matters for authorities to establish.
