Israel Failed to Prevent Potential Attack on Flydubai Jet

A recent incident involving a Flydubai flight to Israel, where a pilot was reportedly deemed radical by Oman and an Islamist extremist by Morocco, has exposed significant security lapses, according to columnist Ben Caspit. The incident, which narrowly avoided disaster, highlights a failure to heed warnings issued two years prior by the State Comptroller regarding the need to reassess the security of foreign aircraft entering Israel.

Caspit criticizes the Ministry of Transportation, headed by Miri Regev, and its Director General Moshe Ben Zaken, for neglecting the Comptroller's report. Instead of implementing its recommendations, Ben Zaken allegedly prioritized the minister's extensive international travel. The columnist argues that the authorities must treat the near-miss as if it had succeeded, akin to the 2002 Arkia plane attack in Mombasa, Kenya, which was considered a success by the perpetrators despite the missiles missing the target.

The article suggests that while the Mossad may have limited responsibility if the pilot was not connected to an organized group, Israeli security agencies should have identified the pilot's problematic background. The failure to do so allowed a pilot, deemed dangerous by Oman, to fly hundreds of Israelis. Caspit questions the accountability of the political echelon, including the Prime Minister, stating that they are typically only associated with successes, not failures.

He concludes that security forces must analyze the Flydubai incident as a successful attack, emphasizing that the pilot managed to bypass security screenings in both the UAE and Israel. This approach, he argues, is necessary because the perpetrators' intent was to cause harm, and their means were acquired. The article draws a parallel to the Mombasa attack, where Israeli security personnel were present but failed to prevent the missile launch, attributing the near-miss in Dubai to the bravery of five Israelis on board.