Lieberman Calls for Shin Bet Chief's Resignation Over Flydubai Incident

Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, on Sunday called for the resignation of Shin Bet chief David Zini following a security lapse that allowed an Omani co-pilot to board a Flydubai flight to Israel. Lieberman stated in an interview with N12 that Zini should take responsibility for the failure, saying, "The head of the Shin Bet must go home, the responsibility is his." The incident intensified amid reports that the flight crew's details, including the co-pilot, were previously provided to Israel but did not prevent him from boarding. While the Ministry of Transportation holds formal responsibility for overseeing foreign airlines, the Shin Bet, Mossad, and police have access to passenger and crew data. The Ministry of Transportation countered that it is not an intelligence agency and lacked the means to conduct security background checks on crew members. Separately, Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of "Yashar!", sharply criticized Transportation Minister Miri Regev, labeling the event a "major failure and blunder." Eisenkot argued that a basic online check of the co-pilot's activities could have revealed extremist signs and directly accused Regev of "utter failure" and being "completely unfit for this role."