Israel Recognizes Flydubai Passengers as Victims of Hostile Acts

Six weeks after the attempted crash of a Flydubai flight into Israel, the Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it recognizes the flight's passengers as victims of hostile acts. An official statement confirmed that, following approval from authorized Israeli investigators, the ministry's approving authority designated the attempted attack on the Flydubai flight as an "act of hostility." This decision has been forwarded to the National Insurance Institute, which is now contacting the affected passengers for further processing.

Nearly two weeks after the incident, Flydubai had contacted the passengers of the flight, which was hijacked by Omani pilot-terrorist Ma'am Al-Hamami. In an email to the passengers, who were saved due to the bravery of several individuals and pilot Smith Macher, the airline downplayed the hijacking and attempted crash by one of its employees, without mentioning compensation for the passengers' ordeal. The Flydubai plane was carrying 174 passengers.

He had previously flown to Israel twice and had become radicalized in Australia, where he attended a mosque in Melbourne. Reports also indicated that he chose a career in aviation after being inspired by the 9/11 attacks. The British "Telegraph" had previously reported that the terrorist had trained at the L3 Airline Academy, one of the UK's largest flight schools.

President Yitzhak Herzog honored the Israelis who tackled the terrorist pilot and prevented him from carrying out his plan to crash the plane. The ceremony at the President's Residence recognized flight heroes Yaniv Hayun, Zvika and Tali Mans, Or Pardilov, Assaf Rejwan, and Dr. Shota Musayev, who also provided life-saving medical treatment to the main pilot after he was stabbed by the hijacker.