Netanyahu vows to exact ‘very heavy price’ from those involved in flydubai incident as terror probe goes on

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday warned that Israel would impose a “very heavy price” on whoever was behind Wednesday’s flydubai incident, while stopping short of providing evidence that any country was involved.

“As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer: The attacker underwent Islamist radicalisation. He came to crash the plane with all passengers on board,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu’s warning

“We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price,” he said, referring to the co-pilot accused of attacking the Indian captain.

Netanyahu did not name any country as a potential suspect. However, Israel has for years accused Iran of supporting attacks and militant activity abroad. Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran in February.

On Thursday, Netanyahu said the suspect who allegedly attempted to crash a Flydubai flight bound for Israel had undergone “Islamist, radical indoctrination”.

Asked who had helped radicalise the suspect, Netanyahu said he did not know and that Israel was cooperating with the UAE’s investigation into the incident.

“We’ll get to the bottom of things,” he told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

Trump drops a Iran hint

US President Donald Trump, who reached a ceasefire agreement with Iran in April that has since broken down, said on Thursday that he was “hearing” of Iranian involvement in the Flydubai incident and warned that Iran would “be hit very hard” if its involvement was established.

Israel and the US have previously linked Iran’s Shia clerical government to several attacks internationally since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. However, Iran has had relatively few known links to aircraft hijackings, which have historically been associated with groups such as Al-Qaeda, including in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine during the 1960s and 1970s.

Netanyahu had earlier said the co-pilot was an Omani national and had left open the possibility that he could have been experiencing mental health problems.

According to Israeli officials and witnesses, the co-pilot of the Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv stabbed Indian Captain Smit Machchhar during the flight on Wednesday. Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and help overpower the attacker.

The aircraft then made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. No deaths were reported in the incident.

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