Co-pilot who attacked flydubai captain underwent Islamist indoctrination: Netanyahu

A day after a mid-air attack on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight put the lives of 180 passengers, mostly Israelis, at risk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the co-pilot who stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar had undergone radical indoctrination.

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said investigators would be able to determine “in a matter of days” whether the co-pilot had any links to Iran.

While authorities have not yet disclosed the co-pilot’s identity, he is reportedly an Omani national who was arrested after flydubai flight FZ1073 made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Revealing that Israel would question the co-pilot and probe any possible Iran angle, he told Fox News, “We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices and whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out very soon.”

"We'll be following and possibly also participating in this investigation," he added.

Both Israel and the United Arab Emirates are currently investigating whether the bloodied attack on the pilot by his co-pilot aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight was an attempted hijacking or a terrorist incident.

Meanwhile, Israel's Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Avraham Shelley reportedly cautioned against drawing any early conclusions.

Before Netanyahu’s comments to Fox News, speculation about the co-pilot’s religious beliefs had already begun circulating in the media. Tel Aviv-based Channel 16’s Foreign News Editor, Yosef Israel, cited a flydubai pilot as describing the accused co-pilot as displaying “very religious” behaviour.

"He prayed excessively throughout the day and refused to shake hands with women," the colleague was quoted as saying by Yosef. However, Yosef didn't reveal the identity of the pilot.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.- Ends