Netanyahu Spokesman: Flydubai Incident Not a Hijacking

A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled rumors that a Flydubai flight had been involved in an incident or what had been described as a hijacking.

The spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the Flydubai flight, which was en route to Tel Aviv, was not a hijacking, according to Reuters.

This came after several Israeli media outlets reported an “security incident on board a plane traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.” The aircraft, carrying more than 100 Israelis, had issued a distress call, according to Israeli media.

However, it appears the matter was merely a technical malfunction or error, as suggested by the Netanyahu spokesperson’s remarks.

The media frenzy surrounding the incident occurred at a sensitive time, as Netanyahu had warned the previous day of a threat of attacks on Israel ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for next month. In a video message recorded at Tel Nof Airbase, he said, “We have indications that we may be attacked before the elections.”

Parliamentary elections in Israel are set for October 27. Based on the results, the new Knesset (parliament) will be formed, after which the leader of the party winning the most seats will be tasked with forming a new government.

However, neither side currently holds the 61 seats out of 120 in the Knesset needed to form a governing coalition.