Ambassador to UAE says flydubai incident didn't weaken Israel-Emirati relations - interview

Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Yossi Shelley said the dramatic attack aboard a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv has not weakened the strategic relationship between Israel and the UAE, arguing instead that the Emirati authorities' response has demonstrated the strength of the ties established under the Abraham Accords.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Friday, Shelley said he had received what he described as a “very warm” response from Emirati officials and members of the public following the September 30 incident, in which a co-pilot attacked the captain aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, sending the aircraft into a rapid descent before passengers and crew helped regain control.

“I definitely feel a warm embrace,” Shelley told the Post. “Of course there is concern," he said.

Shelley said the response he has received from senior Emirati officials has reinforced his assessment that the relationship between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi remains deep.

For example, he described calling a senior Emirati business executive around 1 a.m. about the aviation situation and receiving a response shortly afterward.

“I called him at one in the morning, and he called me back at 1:10,” Shelley said. “Who calls you back at 1:10 at night because you have a question about flights tomorrow?”

Investigation being conducted by Israeli, Saudi, Emirati authorities

Shelley said that the investigation into the flydubai incident is being conducted by the relevant authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. On Thursday, the Omani co-pilot was transferred to the UAE for further investigation. “The UAE are investigating, they are doing everything that needs to be done, and we trust them", Shelley said. Israel is preparing to send an investigation team to the country.

Shelly emphasized the importance for Israel of determining whether the attacker acted independently or was sent by someone else.

“We have a very, very big interest, just like everyone else, in knowing whether someone came because somebody sent him, or whether he acted alone,” Shelley said. “We want to know the result because there are implications afterward.”

Shelley said the incident should lead to broader consideration of how flight crews are screened, particularly when airlines operate routes connecting countries that are experiencing political or military tensions.

“When we leave the country and arrive in other countries, they ask us: Where did you come from? What did you bring?” he said. “We need to raise the level and ask the pilots as well: What did you bring and where did you come from?”

He added that authorities should consider the nationalities and backgrounds of pilots when assigning crews to sensitive routes.

“I don’t want to send an Iranian pilot to Israel, or a pilot from a country involved in a war with us,” Shelley said, while stressing that he was speaking about the need for authorities to consider such issues rather than identifying a particular country as responsible for the flydubai incident.

Ambassador expresses gratitude to heroic captain

Shelley also thanked Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was injured in the attack.

Machchhar was stabbed during the incident but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing others to intervene. Israeli passengers subsequently helped subdue the attacker and prevent the aircraft from crashing.

Shelley said he had spoken with India’s ambassador in the UAE and told him that Israel wanted to find a way to formally thank Machchhar.

“I told him that I want him to speak with the prime minister,” Shelley said. “We really are grateful to him, and of course to all the people who have been talked about and will be talked about.”

Shelley said he had hoped to visit Machchhar personally after the injured pilot was transferred to the UAE, but that logistical and security arrangements had so far prevented the visit.

Not a threat to Abraham Accords

Asked directly what the incident could mean for the Abraham Accords and Israel’s relationship with the UAE, Shelley rejected the idea that the attack could fundamentally damage the partnership.

“Let’s say what it did not do,” Shelley said. “It did not succeed in bringing them down. It tried to break them. It tried to break us. We are strong.”

He pointed to the decision to resume Israeli airline operations to the UAE as evidence that the relationship had not been derailed.

“It did exactly the opposite,” Shelley said of the impact of the incident on the bilateral relationship.

He argued that the UAE’s willingness to allow Israeli carriers to resume operations demonstrated continued confidence in the relationship.

“There is something important here,” Shelley said. “This is not a temporary agreement. It is a way of life. It is a partnership between partners.”

Shelley sought to play down reports of a broader crisis over the resumption of flights between Israel and the UAE.

He said Israeli carriers were expected to begin landing later on Friday and continue operations over the coming days.

“There is no crisis, no major event,” Shelley said.

He described the situation as a matter of establishing new procedures following the incident, including determining how baggage should be handled and screened.

“There are all kinds of things that are part of the setup,” he said. “They don’t want to fall into the second trap.”

The ambassador said the relationship with Abu Dhabi had already endured the unprecedented regional tensions of recent years and that the latest incident would not, in his assessment, change its fundamental trajectory.

“This is a partnership,” he said. “It’s not something temporary.”