Journalist Slams Transportation Minister Over Flight Security Failures

Journalist Ben Caspit has sharply criticized the Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, over security lapses concerning incoming flights to Israel, particularly following an incident on a Flydubai flight. Caspit alleged on social media that Regev's ministry accepted responsibility for overseeing incoming flights despite lacking the necessary tools and expertise, a recommendation against by professional staff within the ministry. He claimed that since taking responsibility, "nothing has been done." Caspit dramatically stated that if Osama bin Laden or Mohammed Deif were alive, they too could have flown a plane into Israel under the current lax security. He further shared a clip of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot discussing Regev's responsibility for the Dubai flight incident.

Reports indicate that the passenger and crew manifest for the Flydubai flight, including the co-pilot from Oman, was transferred to Israel before takeoff and received by the Tax Authority. However, senior officials cited in the report claimed that for approximately two years, the Ministry of Transportation did not retrieve or examine data for crew members arriving on foreign flights. This contrasts with Regev's statement in an interview prior to Caspit's posts, where she asserted that the responsibility for vetting foreign aircrews lies with security agencies like the Mossad, not her ministry. She stated, "The list did not pass to us, because the one who is supposed to identify the crew is an intelligence body. We are not an intelligence body."

The co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain and attempted to crash the plane. Following this event, Flydubai suspended its flights to and from Israel, while the Israeli Ministry of Transportation announced preparations for Israeli airlines to operate flights to bring passengers back from the UAE.