The incident involving a Flydubai plane travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv has become the focus of a political dispute in Israel ahead of the legislative elections scheduled for 27 October. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz linked the incident to earlier warnings of a possible attack before the vote, while political opponents accused them of exploiting security fears in the election campaign.
Netanyahu and Katz link incident to security warnings
Netanyahu and Katz moved on Wednesday to recall the warnings they had issued about possible threats in the period before the elections. Katz said those he described as “external enemies” and “former officials detached from decision-making circles” should take the intelligence warnings seriously.
Netanyahu had appeared at an air base one day before the incident and said there were indications that Israel’s enemies would try to attack it before the election date. The lack of details about the nature of those indications prompted growing criticism from his opponents, who accused him of using security fears to serve his election campaign.
Naftali Bennett, who is seeking to succeed Netanyahu, publicly asked what the prime minister was doing to prevent the threats he had mentioned. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he had received a security briefing from Netanyahu on Tuesday night, but found nothing in it to justify causing panic, stressing that the possibility of a plane hijacking had not been raised during the briefing.
Record of hijackings involving Israel-linked aircraft
- 1
El Al hijacking; Dawson’s Field operations; Lufthansa hijacking; Lod Airport and Entebbe attack; Pan Am hijacking attempt
In July 1968, men belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked an Israeli El Al aircraft travelling between Rome and Tel Aviv and diverted it to Algeria. The operation led to a 40-day hostage crisis and ended with the release of 16 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for dozens of Israeli men.
- 2
Dawson’s Field operations
In September 1970, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine seized three aircraft simultaneously in operations known as “Dawson’s Field”. Two aircraft were taken to Dawson’s Field in Jordan, while the third was taken to Cairo. Most of the Israeli and American male passengers were held hostage before later being exchanged for four Front prisoners, including Leila Khaled.
- 3
Lufthansa hijacking
In October 1972, a German Lufthansa aircraft bound for Frankfurt was hijacked after taking off from Damascus. The plane was forced to circle Zagreb airport with little fuel until the German authorities agreed to release those responsible for the attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games earlier that year.
- 4
Lod Airport and Entebbe attack
In 1972, three members of the Japanese Red Army also opened fire on 26 people at Israel’s Lod Airport, killing them. In 1976, Yonatan Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, was killed while taking part in an attempt to rescue more than 100 hostages, most of them Israeli and Jewish, aboard a hijacked Air France aircraft taken to Uganda.
- 5
Pan Am hijacking attempt
In 1986, another hijacking attempt took place when gunmen seized a Pan American aircraft and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel strengthens aviation security after past incidents
Those experiences prompted Israel to invest in aviation security, particularly around Ben Gurion Airport and aboard El Al aircraft, whose protection and equipment were upgraded to deal with shoulder-fired missiles and their guidance systems.
