Shin Bet Chief Warned of UAE Security Lapses Before Dubai Flight Attack

Weeks before the attack on a Flydubai flight, Israel's Shin Bet security agency chief, David Zini, expressed serious concerns about the adequacy of security measures at airports in the United Arab Emirates. Zini reportedly insisted that Israeli airlines should not be permitted to fly to the UAE until the security situation improved, as the Shin Bet is responsible for the security of Israeli flights to and from the country. Despite the incident occurring on a foreign airline and allegedly being carried out by the co-pilot, the Shin Bet's warnings about security vulnerabilities may be relevant to the attack. According to reports, the security measures in place for flights arriving in Israel could have potentially helped thwart the attack, particularly if the co-pilot brought weapons aboard.

Investigators are currently examining the possibility that the co-pilot intended to crash the plane into Israel. This scenario suggests the co-pilot may have planned to hijack the aircraft while over Jordan and then intentionally crash it into Israeli territory. This line of inquiry is still under investigation and has not yet been confirmed as a definitive conclusion.

The article also clarified the division of responsibilities among Israeli security bodies: the Ministry of Transportation oversees foreign airlines departing from Israel, the Shin Bet handles Israeli flights, and the Mossad is tasked with thwarting international terror threats. These concerns arose amidst general intelligence indicating a significant increase in terror warnings. However, the specific threat of a pilot attempting to hijack a plane and crash it, as seen on the Flydubai flight, had not been previously identified as a known scenario by Israeli security officials.