‘Kill me, kill me’: Netanyahu reveals words of ‘indoctrinated’ flydubai co-pilot after being subdued
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said the Omani co-pilot, accused of attacking flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar, was “suicidal” and had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said the co-pilot, who allegedly stabbed the captain aboard the flight, was now being interrogated.“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu said, adding that investigators would examine in the coming days whether there was any “Iran link” to the incident.ASLO READ: Was Flydubai cockpit attack planned? UAE probe to examine possible terror linkNetanyahu also alleged that the co-pilot may have intended to bring down the aircraft. According to the Israeli PM, the co-pilot repeatedly shouted “kill me, kill me!” after he was subdued and restrained.The allegations have yet to be independently established, and investigators are continuing to probe the motive behind the attack and whether anyone else was involved.Netanyahu also revealed the thinking by the Israeli military and government leaders after fighter jets were reportedly scrambled when initial “hijacking alert” came. “”This may be the toughest situation that we can be in… where an unidentified passenger plane is heading towards Israel,” he said.Earlier, Netanyahu had addressed the incident, saying it was “too early” to determine whether Iran was involved in the incident. Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, he said the attacking pilot was being investigated in Saudi Arabia and could later be taken to the UAE, with Israel potentially participating in the probe. Netanyahu also said there were “signs” from Iran-backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah of plans to carry out attacks in Israel, but stressed that it was not yet known whether the flydubai incident was linked to those plans.The incident involved flydubai flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with Indian captain Smit Machchhar seriously wounded after his Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed him during the flight. Despite his injuries, Machchhar reportedly managed to alert authorities and open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker.READ ALSO: ‘Fighter jets in air’: How Israel prepared for worst-case scenario during flydubai scareTwo off-duty flydubai pilots travelling as passengers then helped take control of the aircraft, which made an emergency landing at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport. The around 180 passengers were later flown to Tel Aviv on another aircraft, while Machchhar was initially treated in Saudi Arabia and later airlifted to Abu Dhabi.
