Netanyahu: It is too early to determine who is behind the Fly Dubai incident

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In a new comment on the incident involving the Fly Dubai flight that was headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it is too early to determine who is behind it.

Netanyahu added in an interview with Sean Hannity on "Fox News" on Wednesday that Israel is "possibly" involved in the investigations.

His comment came in response to a question about whether there are indications of Iran's involvement in the incident.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu reported that a pilot on board the Fly Dubai flight attempted to crash the plane, which was carrying 174 passengers.

In a video clip, he stated that one of the pilots "stabbed his colleague and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," while it was approaching Israel.

He praised the Indian pilot Smit Machar, who was injured during the confrontation with his assistant on the flight, as well as the passengers on the plane, considering that they prevented a disaster.

For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the incident was an "attempted terrorist act," adding that "the initial information available indicates that the attacker's goal was to crash the plane with all its passengers."

Katz also claimed that "the operation was only thwarted thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers" who stormed the cockpit and managed to overpower the person he described as an "terrorist," before regaining control of the plane to an additional flight crew that was on board.

For its part, a U.S. State Department official confirmed the presence of 4 American citizens on the flight.

US President Donald Trump announced that he spoke "at length" with Netanyahu about the incident, stating: "It seems that the co-pilot was either a terrorist or mentally unstable, and he stabbed the captain of the plane."

In addition, the Israeli Ministry of Transport indicated that a joint investigation is being conducted with the security agency regarding the aircraft incident.

The Israeli statements came as passengers of the flight departed on a new flight to Tel Aviv, according to AFP, while security sources reported that Saudi Arabia refused to allow an Israeli plane to land before the passengers departed on another Flydubai flight, according to Reuters.

In contrast, Flydubai issued a clarification regarding what happened, stating that a "dispute" occurred inside the cockpit of flight FZ1073, which was heading from Dubai Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport, confirming that the flight crew managed to secure the aircraft, divert its course, and land it safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The company stated that all passengers and crew members are fine, and their safety was confirmed after landing, noting that necessary measures were taken to deal with the incident and ensure the continuation of the flight according to the approved operational requirements.

The aircraft crew handled the situation according to established safety protocols and was able to execute a course change and make a safe landing at Tabuk Airport without any harm to the passengers.

However, Fly Dubai emphasized that "it is too early to determine the reasons for the incident or its motives," explaining that "the circumstances are still not fully known and are subject to an official investigation by the relevant authorities, with a commitment to fully cooperate with the investigations to uncover the details and causes of the incident."

It is noted that Tabuk Airport received a distress call from a flight belonging to Fly Dubai at 8:44 AM, aiming to execute an emergency landing, which necessitated the activation of emergency procedures and preparedness to handle the situation and ensure the safety of passengers and crew members. It was later confirmed that a replacement aircraft transported the passengers to their final destination.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office announced that the latter issued instructions to intensify security measures on board Israeli and non-Israeli airline flights.