2 hrs ago
Report Says Israeli Transport Ministry Ignored Foreign Flight Security Warnings
Reports say Israeli agencies had concerns about how security checks were handled for foreign flights.
In 2021, responsibility for some checks was assigned to the Transportation Ministry’s civil aviation authority.
A report from 2024 reportedly said the ministry was not meeting its duties.
Officials discussed how to organize the checks, including whether the ministry had enough staff and money.
The ministry says its role was not newly assigned and calls the claims false.
Minister Miri Regev says her department cannot check foreign pilots’ backgrounds.
Opposition leaders say she should take responsibility and resign.
The dispute followed an incident in which a flydubai co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain during a flight.
The plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Reports say Israeli agencies raised concerns for years about how foreign airlines and pilots were screened for security risks.
A classified 2024 state comptroller report reportedly found that the Transportation Ministry was not meeting its obligations.
The ministry disputes claims that responsibility for foreign-flight security was newly transferred to it, saying it had held that responsibility for decades.
Transport Minister Miri Regev said her ministry lacks the capacity to conduct background checks, while opposition figures called her responsible and demanded her resignation.
A flydubai co-pilot from Oman allegedly attacked the captain on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight; the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
- Who
- Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Transport Minister Miri Regev are at the center of the dispute; opposition leaders have called for Regev’s resignation.
- What
- Reports allege long-running shortcomings in checks on foreign flights, following an alleged attack by a co-pilot aboard a flydubai flight.
- Where
- The flight was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv and landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- When
- The warnings reportedly span several years; the flight incident occurred the Wednesday before the article’s publication.
- Why
- The dispute concerns which Israeli agencies were responsible for screening foreign airlines and pilots, and whether the Transportation Ministry had the capacity to do so.
Opposition and critics
Minister and ministry
Responsibility for security checks
Opposition and critics
Opposition figures say the Transportation Ministry was responsible for foreign-flight security and that Regev should resign.
Minister and ministry
Regev says her ministry is not responsible for identifying foreign crews or assessing threats, and lacks capacity to conduct background checks.
Whether the role was newly transferred
Opposition and critics
The reports describe security responsibility as having shifted toward the Transportation Ministry in recent years, despite concerns about its ability to handle the work.
Minister and ministry
The ministry says it has been responsible for foreign flights for decades and rejects the claim that the responsibility was newly transferred.
Key facts
- Flight
- flydubai service from Dubai to Tel Aviv
- Alleged attacker
- 29-year-old co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, identified as being from Oman
- Incident
- The co-pilot allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar with an axe
- Landing
- The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
- Passengers and crew
- The flight was carrying more than 170 people
- 2021 decision
- The security cabinet assigned the Civil Aviation Authority a role in checking security instructions for certain foreign countries
- 2024 review
- A classified state comptroller report reportedly found the ministry was not meeting its obligations
- Ministry response
- The Transportation Ministry called the claims false and said its responsibility for foreign flights had existed for decades
Quotes
Gadi Eisenkot
Opposition leader and challenger to Benjamin Netanyahu
“You are responsible for the security of foreign companies. Not the Shin Bet, not Mossad. You. That's what the government decided, and that's what the law stipulates.”
NDTV
“In a proper and functioning government, the minister of transportation would have submitted a letter of resignation last night.”
NDTV
Sources
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