Failed hijacking of a new Middle East
The incredible survival of Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, briefly hijacked by its own co-pilot, underlined the incredible change in the Middle East in the past decade. It also showed why further steps may require an even bigger miracle.
The busy air route between Dubai and Tel Aviv would not have been possible before the Abraham Accords, brokered in 2020 under President Donald Trump during his first term. They were initially signed by Israel with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is now a close Israeli security ally, and Bahrain.
Heroic Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who fought back after being stabbed, as well as the Israelis who wrestled the attacker from the controls so another pilot could land the Emirati plane, personified a security axis that is forming between India, Israel and the UAE, all countries that see Islamist terrorism as an existential threat.
The motives of the villain, the Omani co-pilot, are not officially confirmed, but Israeli officials called it a suspected terrorist attack. A fellow flydubai pilot told Israeli television that he “prayed excessively” and “refused to shake hands with women.”
The fact that he was from Oman does show some strain in the Israel-Arab agreements: no pilot from a country that has not agreed diplomatic relations with Israel should have been piloting a plane to Tel Aviv. If anything, the security laxness suggests an overconfidence in normalisation.
Despite the Abraham Accords, Arab populations have generally been less keen than their governments on ties with Israel, especially since the devastating war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip after its 2023 attack.
Saudi conundrum
The biggest conundrum for Israel and Trump is Saudi Arabia, and the flydubai flight gave pointers on that relationship too and why it remains so far from normalisation.
On one hand, the fact that the aircraft was even allowed to land in Saudi Arabia and that Saudi medics gave immediate care to the predominantly Israeli passengers showed the change in a country that once said any Jews were unwelcome.
Saudi Arabia does at least now allow Israeli aircraft to fly over the kingdom, but it has been reluctant to sign up to the Abraham Accords despite concerted pressure from Trump. Saudi Arabia’s condition for normalisation is and remains Israeli agreement to a Palestinian state.
Saudi Arabia turned down an Israeli request to allow Israeli military planes to bring back the stranded passengers from Flight FZ1073. They had to wait for another Emirati flight instead.
Israeli Druze activist Loreena Khateeb posted images of the passengers being treated by the Saudis on X with the message in Arabic: “Humanity unites us, and perhaps paves the way for peace?” alongside Israeli and Saudi flags.
A handful of posts voiced agreement. More typical were: “Saudi Arabia treats even dogs and cats. Don’t make a big deal of it” and “Yes, correct, we are humanity and you are the country of terrorism and the killing of women and children.”
