Co-Pilot Who Tried To Crash flydubai Plane Is Omani National: Israel's Foreign Minister To NDTV

The co-pilot who stabbed the captain on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight, in an alleged attempt to hijack or crash the plane, is an Omani national, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said in an interview with NDTV on Thursday. He termed it a "jihadist terror attack", added that there's no evidence yet, but claimed that the main motive was to derail Israel-UAE ties and the Abraham Accords.

He also praised the Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, who managed to open the cockpit door despite being injured. Official details on the attacker have neither been released by Saudi Arabia, where the plane was diverted by backup pilots who happened to be on the plane, nor by the UAE, where the flight (flydubai 1073) originated.

Sa'ar said Israel would push for the co-pilot's extradition from the UAE. After an initial investigation by Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed, the co-pilot is to be handed over to the UAE.

On the heroic courage of the Indian pilot and the quick thinking of Israeli passengers who pounced on the attacker, Sa'ar said, "We are thankful for the bravery and courage of Captain Smit Machchhar. By being able to open the door of the cockpit after he was stabbed, he saved the flight and the passengers. And there was the bravery of the Israeli passengers who took over the stabber, the co-pilot, and made it possible for another crew, two additional pilots who were on the plane, to take over the flight and make sure this tragedy was prevented," he told NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul.

"It is really bravery upon bravery. If you think about statistics, it's unbelievable to get out of this difficult situation," he added.

He saw it as another example of India and Israel working together. "It demonstrates that we are united against terror. It's not only the governments; it's also the citizens under these difficult consequences. They just did the unbelievable," he said.

He was asked bout the initial analysis of the Israeli government on the attack, whether there was 9/11 type of attack that was planned, and whether it had any link with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent UAE visit.

"We don't have enough information to say who was behind this attack. But we will clearly find out," Sa'ar said.

"But it is clearly a terror attempt with jihadist characteristics," he added.

He said the attacker tried to do "at least three things".

"First, to kill as many Israelis as possible. Second, to harm UAE-Israeli relations that [are], as you know, in the framework of the Abraham Accords and are flourishing... So, it tried to damage that and also to harm the UAE itself," he said.

READ | Inside Boeing 737 Simulator: NDTV Retraces flydubai's Terrifying Seconds

Asked if he knew anything specific about the attacker, he said, "From what I know, he is an Omani national, but I don't know more details... We will need more time in order to say things accurately, and it's very important to be accurate when you say something. But to me, it is clear it was a terror attack with jihadist characteristics."

To a question on whether this could be seen in the context of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, he said, "If we find out that [Iran] might have done that -- they are behind terror attacks against Israelis all over the world -- we will clearly say that publicly. But until now, I don't want to say something which is not proven from the investigation."

He also said he has spoken to the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah (bin Zayed): "And we will both determine that we will not let this terror attack influence the relations between the states. On the contrary, we are very committed now to strengthening relations in all dimensions. We will not let the terrorists win."

He said extremists are trying to hurt relations between Israel and moderate Arab countries like the UAE, and "we will not let them have what they want".

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination. "The attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated. What we know so far is that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," the Israeli Prime Minister said to Fox News.

Earlier, Netanyahu had hailed the "tremendous act of heroism" by Captain Smit Machchhar, saying the seriously injured pilot managed to unlock the cockpit door while "fighting for his life". "I think what happened is a tremendous act of heroism that prevented another 9/11 style crash of an entire airplane," Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS News.