Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the public on Wednesday afternoon following the suspected hijacking incident involving a flydubai plane meant to land in Tel Aviv earlier in the day, confirming that one of the pilots had carried out a stabbing attack.
"All passengers are out of danger," Netanyahu said. "The pilot who stabbed them has been arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities. We are in close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers and their safe return to Israel."
The prime minister also explained that one of the Israeli passengers broke into the cockpit along with a crewmember and managed to neutralize the threat of the attacking pilot while another crewmember stabilized the plane.
"I salute these heroes who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage," Netanyahu said. "They saved many lives; they averted a major disaster. The plane landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia."
Katz calls the incident a terror attack, echoes Netanyahu's praise of Israeli passengers
Defense Minister Israel Katz also issued a statement on Wednesday, calling the flydubai incident a terror attack.
"The incident on the flydubai plane was an attempted jihadist attack," Katz said, "which was only foiled thanks to the heroism of a number of Israeli passengers."
He explained -- similarly to Netanyahu -- that the Israelis took control of the situation and eliminated the threat, and added that they handed the cockpit over to an alternate team of pilots on the plane.
"According to the initial information we have, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane," Katz said.