FlyDubai flight hijack scare: Netanyahu accused of election manoeuvre

Dubai/Tel Aviv — A FlyDubai passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv triggered a hijack alert, forcing an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency security cabinet meeting, while opposition leaders accused him of exploiting the incident for electoral gain.
The aircraft transmitted general emergency code 7700 and shortly afterwards hijack code 7500 while over Jordanian airspace, sparking alarm in Israel reminiscent of post-9/11 security fears.  Around 174 passengers were on board, including roughly 100 Israeli citizens.  The plane circled over Jordan before being diverted towards Saudi Arabia and landed in the northwestern city of Tabuk.
Israeli media reports were conflicting: some channels claimed the co-pilot attempted to crash or hijack the plane, while others said a dispute between the Russian captain and Ukrainian co-pilot led to the emergency signals.  Some accounts alleged the co-pilot, reported to be an Omani national, attacked the captain with a knife, prompting cabin crew and passengers to break into the cockpit.  However, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office later stated the incident was not an attempted hijacking.
Netanyahu immediately called an emergency security cabinet session.  Opposition figures noted the timing—coming after Netanyahu’s UAE visit and a day after he warned of preparations for external attacks—and alleged that with parliamentary elections due on 27 October, the episode was being used to shape a security-focused narrative to avoid electoral defeat.
Separately, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, labelled Netanyahu a “war criminal,” saying Qatar had brokered a deal that could have secured the release of all civilian hostages in Gaza and that Hamas had agreed, but Netanyahu rejected the offer.