Netanyahu Says Flydubai co-pilot was radical Islamist, Ben-Gvir calls for extradition

Ben-Gvir said he will ask the security cabinet to seek the extradition of the suspect.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Omani co-pilot accused of stabbing a pilot and trying to crash a Flydubai flight on Wednesday had undergone Islamist radicalization, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the suspect to be extradited to Israel and prosecuted.

The co-pilot “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu told Fox and Friends.

The suspect remains in Saudi Arabia, where he is being held and questioned.

Netanyahu pointed to accounts from passengers about statements the co-pilot allegedly made during the incident. “the attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me,’” Netanyahu said, making it “clear he was suicidal.”

The prime minister said he anticipates the suspect will, “I assume, very quickly” be transferred to Dubai for further questioning. “He’s an Omani national… We’ll join the interrogation and find out what happened there exactly.”

Netanyahu cautioned against drawing conclusions about possible Iranian involvement. “I think it’s too early to say whether there was Iranian collusion,” he said, adding that he expects more definitive findings soon.

Separately, an official told The Times of Israel that the co-pilot had discussed killing Jews on social media. Passenger accounts also indicated that he asked Emirati crew members to kill him, the official said.

“This was a person who was willing to commit suicide,” says the official. “His social media accounts [say] clearly that he has been radicalized into jihadist ideology. He talks about killing Jews.”

“We can’t say for sure until the investigation’s over,” the official continues, “but it certainly seems like he was a suicide actor who was probably going to try to down that plane.”

Ben-Gvir said he will ask the security cabinet to seek the extradition of the suspect, who is accused of trying to bring down the Tel Aviv-bound flight carrying mainly Israelis yesterday.

“Someone who planned to crash a plane and murder 180 Israelis should be extradited to Israel and pay the heaviest price here,” he says. “Anyone who tries to murder or harm Israelis will be pursued by the State of Israel and held to account anywhere in the world.”