Netanyahu said it is "too soon" to know whether Iran's regime was involved in the attack on the Flydubai flight

Netanyahu said it is "too soon" to know whether Iran's regime was involved in the attack on the Flydubai flight (REUTERS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it is "too soon to say" whether Iran was involved in the attack on a Flydubai flight that was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, and stated that Israel will follow the investigation and may possibly take part in it. The plane, with 174 people on board, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots stabbed the other inside the cockpit. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Netanyahu was asked whether there was any indication of Iranian involvement in the incident. "It is too soon to say," the prime minister replied, without attributing responsibility to Tehran for the moment. Netanyahu stated that the pilot accused of the attack is under investigation in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing after the incident. "The attacking pilot is being investigated in Saudi Arabia. I believe he will be transferred to the United Arab Emirates, where he is from, or at least where the flight departed from," he noted. The prime minister added: "We will be aware of the investigation and may possibly also take part in it." According to his account, Israeli authorities are seeking to determine the circumstances and motivation of the attack before establishing who was behind the episode. Netanyahu also stated that he did not know the "exact background" of the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain, although he maintained that the aggressor "obviously hated Israelis." "That is fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level," he said. The Israeli leader recounted that the incident occurred as the plane was approaching Israel. According to his version, one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the plane with all its passengers on board. Netanyahu stated that the pilot accused of the attack is under investigation in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing after the incident (EP) "During the flight, as they were approaching the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and, apparently, attempted to crash the plane with everyone on board," Netanyahu said in a message released after the episode. The wounded pilot was identified as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national. Netanyahu highlighted his actions and noted that, despite his injuries, he managed to confront his colleague and open the cockpit door, which allowed passengers and crew members to enter and subdue the attacker. "I salute these heroes," said Netanyahu, referring to the passengers who intervened. According to the prime minister, their actions helped prevent "a great catastrophe." In the Fox News interview, Netanyahu also highlighted the intervention of an Israeli passenger identified as Yaniv, whom he described as a plumber. According to his account, the man entered the cockpit and helped subdue the attacker while the plane was losing altitude. "An incredible act of heroism: his, that of the Indian pilot, and that of the people who helped them. They stopped a disaster that could have been global," Netanyahu said. The prime minister explained that he met with Yaniv after the landing and asked him what he did for a living. "I asked him: 'What do you do for a living?' And he told me: 'I'm a plumber. I unclog sewage blockages.' I told him that, certainly, this time he had unclogged a big one," he recounted. Yuval Hayun returned to Israel after the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and was received by Benjamin Netanyahu along with his family. Netanyahu also described the condition of the wounded pilot when the passengers managed to access the cockpit. According to his version, the captain had suffered serious injuries and was covered in blood. Despite this, he managed to open the door to allow the intervention of the passengers and the crew. (With information from AFP and EP)