Israel's ambassador to Greece, Pninat Yanai, has issued an emotional public statement describing the terror aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, using the incident to warn against hatred and incitement targeting relationships built under the Abraham Accords.
The flight, FZ1073 from Dubai, was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after its co-pilot, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national, allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft, which dove nearly 14,000 feet in roughly 30 seconds before passengers — most of them Israeli — subdued the assailant.
The plane landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, where the suspect was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, described it as an attempted jihadist terror attack rather than a mental health-related incident.
The pilot who was stabbed, Smit Machchhar of India, was hailed as a hero by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met returning passengers at Ben Gurion Airport.
In her statement, Mrs. Yanai described the cries of children aboard the flight and urged listeners to imagine their own families in the passengers' place.
She said the incident illustrated how hatred, "when it reaches its peak in a feverish mind," can escalate into catastrophe, and credited both armed passengers and a doctor aboard with preventing disaster.
Mrs. Yanai called on the international community not to let incitement "take over your streets," warning that extremist violence seeks to undermine ties between Israel and Abraham Accords nations, but insisted those bonds "are stronger than hatred."