Three Young Men Detained After Lufthansa Flight Disruption at Ben Gurion Airport

Three men in their twenties were detained on Friday at Ben Gurion Airport just before a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt took off. The airline crew reported that the two brothers from Jaffa and another man from Bat Yam posed a threat to passengers during pre-flight preparations. When police officers boarded the plane to intervene, the men refused to comply, prompting the use of reasonable force to arrest them. Four officers were injured during the incident, some bitten by the suspects, and one suspect reportedly told a female officer, "I hope you experience October 7th."

The detainees remain in custody, with police planning to extend their detention after the Sabbath. Their lawyer, Walid Kabob, disputes the official account, describing them as well-behaved individuals whose only fault was wanting to travel abroad. He said the men told him that one was speaking in Arabic on a video call before takeoff when a female passenger demanded he stop and accused him of filming. He denied filming and continued speaking in Arabic. According to the lawyer, the passenger then insulted him with the phrase "Go away, stinking Arab," which provoked the three men and led to the disturbance.

The flight crew called the police to remove the men, who requested that the passenger who insulted them also be removed. Ultimately, the men were forcibly removed and arrested on suspicion of assaulting officers, while the passenger remained on the plane.