Netanyahu Orders Total Review of Security Procedures for Foreign Commercial Flights to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a comprehensive review of security procedures for foreign commercial flights heading to Israel, the Times of Israel reported on October 4 (local time), citing the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister's Office stated that Netanyahu instructed Shmuel Ben-Ezra, head of the National Security Council (NSC), to appoint investigators to conduct a thorough review of all aspects concerning security measures for foreign civilian flights bound for Israel.

This step comes amid growing aviation security concerns following an incident on September 30, when an Omani co-pilot aboard flydubai flight FZ1073—traveling from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel—reportedly brandished a weapon at the captain and attempted to deliberately crash the plane.

It is known that Israel does not permit pilots from countries with which it does not maintain official diplomatic relations, such as Oman, to operate flights to Israel.

However, Israeli Minister of Transportation Miri Regev recently claimed on a local broadcast that the ministry lacks the capacity to conduct background checks on all foreign airline pilots flying to Israel, adding that the responsibility for background checks lies with security authorities.

In response, claims have also been raised that auditing bodies had previously warned of vulnerabilities in security preparedness, noting that the Ministry of Transportation had failed to properly carry out security inspections on foreign flights for years.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.