Netanyahu warns 'very heavy price' if any power behind Flydubai incident
Israel's prime minister said the co-pilot assailant had undergone Islamist radicalisation and investigators were examining whether he was sent by anyone, warning those responsible would pay 'a very heavy price'.
Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Friday that Israel would impose a “very heavy price” on any power behind the alleged mid-air attack on Flydubai flight FZ1073, without offering evidence that any country was responsible, The Times reported.
“As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer: the attacker underwent Islamist radicalisation. He came to crash the plane with all passengers on board,” Netanyahu said in a statement, according to the Times. “We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”
The warning marked an escalation from the Israeli leader’s remarks a day earlier, when he told Fox News it was too early to say whether the co-pilot — identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national — had any connection to Iran, CNN reported. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was “hearing” that Iran was involved and that the country would be “hit very hard” if so, according to Al Arabiya English.
Also on Friday, Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, described the incident as a “dangerous terrorist act” — the first time an Emirati official had publicly labelled it terrorism, Ynet reported — while cautioning against conspiracy theories.
The Tel Aviv-bound flight, carrying 174 passengers, 166 of them Israeli, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the alleged attack. The co-pilot has since been transferred to the UAE, where he faces a terrorism investigation, CNN reported.
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