Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has publicly condemned the government, accusing it of engaging in "cheap politics" at the expense of national security following an emergency involving a flydubai passenger plane. On Wednesday, Lapid explicitly rejected suggestions that the incident was connected to a security briefing he received from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just the previous evening.
"Let me make this clear. Nothing even resembling this morning’s plane incident appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night. Nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint," Lapid stated in a post on X. He further alleged that government-aligned figures were attempting to manipulate the event for political gain, labeling those involved as an "irresponsible bunch."
The criticism arrived one day after Netanyahu provided Lapid with a security briefing, during which the prime minister warned of a potential, unspecified attack on Israel ahead of the October 27 election. Following that meeting, Lapid had urged that security threats be managed "professionally and responsibly" and stated there was "no reason to put the public in a panic."
The controversy stems from an emergency involving flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The aircraft transmitted emergency and unlawful-interference codes before it was diverted to land safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled in response to the situation. While authorities initially investigated the possibility of a hijacking or security breach, subsequent reports indicated the incident may have involved an altercation within the cockpit. According to a statement from Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, both the captain and the first officer were injured during the event and required medical treatment at a hospital.
