Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the flydubai co-pilot who attacked the captain of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight underwent radical Islamist ideological indoctrination. He added that it is too early to draw final conclusions about the motives behind the attack. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Netanyahu said the preliminary assessments are based on information about the co-pilot's past. In his view, the attacker was suicidal and intended to crash the plane.

"But again, I am not making final conclusions yet. But this is the data we have at the moment," the prime minister emphasized.

Two Israeli security officials told Reuters that the co-pilot, whom Israel identified as an Omani citizen, is believed to have acted alone. Israel's ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Shelley, also stressed that the motive for the attack has not yet been established.

The incident occurred on September 30 on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. There were more than 170 people on board.

The co-pilot stabbed the captain. The wounded commander managed to open the cockpit door, after which passengers were able to get inside and subdue the attacker. According to Flightradar24, the plane lost about 4.3 km of altitude in 30 seconds.

Among those involved in the rescue was 50-year-old Israeli Yanev Hayoun, who was flying with his wife and two daughters. Hayoun owns a sewage pumping company.

"We realized an attack had happened because a woman screamed: 'Stabbing!', and the plane shook. At that moment I ran to the pilots' cockpit, and the plane descended sharply," he said.

According to Hayoun, he applied a chokehold to the attacker and pulled him out of the cockpit. The passenger then returned to the controls and pulled the yoke toward himself to bring the plane out of its descent.

When Netanyahu asked how he knew how to act, Hayoun replied:

"I watch the program 'Air Crash Investigation,' Mr. Prime Minister."

Control was then taken over by another pilot who was on board. The reserve crew landed the plane at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

UAE authorities are investigating the circumstances and motives of the attack, including a possible link to terrorism, advance planning and the involvement of other individuals.

According to Netanyahu, the co-pilot is being investigated in Saudi Arabia, after which, he assumes, he will be taken to the UAE.

Israeli security officials told Reuters that no Iranian involvement has been identified so far.