A discussion Tuesday by the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services and Defense Committee on the attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight revealed that 1,240 aircrew members from countries that do not have relations with Israel entered the country over the past year. They included Syrian and Lebanese citizens.
During the committee discussion, the National Security Council was asked to work with the Mossad and Shin Bet to draw up a list of countries considered high-security threats. Accordingly, lists of crew members from those countries would be submitted 48 hours before flights to Israel for review and approval by security agencies.
In addition, at the Transportation Ministry’s request, the Population and Immigration Authority would be required to provide the ministry’s Security Division with lists of passengers and aircrew members holding passports from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
Meanwhile, following a preliminary Transportation Ministry investigation, Transportation Minister Miri Regev sent an urgent request to National Security Council chief Samuel Benezra, calling for “immediate measures” to reduce the risk of and prevent a recurrence of similar serious incidents.
The measures should remain in place “until the investigation by the relevant agencies is completed and coordinated by the head of the National Security Council,” she wrote.
Regev said that “several proposed measures have been raised at the Transportation Ministry, but since the authority does not lie with the ministry, I am asking you to instruct the relevant ministries.”
Among the measures, Regev detailed: “Creating a one-time aviation visa procedure — or any alternative document acceptable to the Population and Immigration Authority — for all passengers and all aircrew members on every flight arriving in Israel from abroad, whether operated by foreign or Israeli airlines or as charter flights. The visa will be completed 48 hours before departure and approved by the Population and Immigration Authority. Implementation of the directive beginning Sunday will be the responsibility of the Interior Ministry and the Population and Immigration Authority.”
Another measure she recommended, which was also discussed by the committee, was: “Obtaining from the Mossad and Shin Bet a list of destinations posing a security threat. On flights from these destinations, airlines will provide the names of passengers and aircrew members 48 hours in advance to the Transportation Ministry’s Security Division, which will submit them to the Mossad or Shin Bet for approval before departure. Providing the list of destinations posing a high security threat by Thursday will be the responsibility of the Mossad and Shin Bet.
“The decision as to which agency the Transportation Ministry will submit the lists to for review — the Mossad or Shin Bet — will be the responsibility of the head of the National Security Council,” she wrote. “Issuing this directive Thursday to all airlines flying to Israel will be the responsibility of the Transportation Ministry’s Security Division. Implementation of the directive will begin Sunday. I ask the head of the National Security Council to instruct the Budget Division to immediately arrange the necessary funding and positions.”
Regev calls for 'immediate measures.' Will flydubai flights return?
(Photo: Itay Blumental, Haim Goldberg/Flash90)
Following the Cabinet meeting at the beginning of the week, the Transportation Ministry demanded that its Security Division and the Shin Bet issue security instructions to foreign and Israeli airlines in accordance with the new procedures and ensure that the directives are incorporated into the airlines’ operating procedures.
Some of these proposals had previously been raised by the Security Division during discussions of the aviation forum headed by the National Security Council but were rejected.
Regev also asked the National Security Council chief to convene an urgent discussion Thursday to “ensure that these directives are implemented and put into effect beginning Sunday and until the investigation you are coordinating, at the prime minister’s instruction, is completed.”
Meanwhile, Regev held a conversation Monday with the Emirati ambassador and a representative of the United Arab Emirates’ royal family regarding the resumption of flydubai flights to Israel — 10 flights a day — alongside an increase in the number of Etihad flights.
The minister was invited to visit the UAE next week to finalize the details and to “restore things to the way they were and honor the Abraham Accords.”
During the conversation, Regev demanded that, alongside the resumption of flydubai flights to Israel, approval be granted for a security screening system for Israeli airlines in accordance with the requirements of the Shin Bet and other security agencies. She also demanded blanket approval for two regularly scheduled daily flights by each Israeli airline. Regev further demanded that the screening arrangements allow an X-ray machine to be brought in.
Regev’s planned visit to the UAE has not yet received final approval, but at this stage it appears that flydubai flights will be cleared to resume service to Israel as an Israeli security delegation heads to Dubai.
Report: Omani pilot’s extremist statements online
(Credit: CNN)
Shin Bet personnel arrived in the United Arab Emirates this week and are taking part in the interrogation of Omani terrorist pilot Hamam al-Hammami, a citizen of a country that has no relations with Israel. During questioning, he said he was motivated by a desire to take revenge on Israel for what it had done in the Gaza Strip.
Investigators also ruled out the involvement of the flight attendants in the attempt to hijack and crash the plane, as they were extremely frighted. However, passengers had suspected that they had collaborated with the pilot-terrorist.
The investigation also found that the pilot planned to crash the plane at Ben Gurion Airport. His backup plan was to crash it into a U.S. military base in Jordan if he was unable to carry out the attack in Israel.
The Omani terrorist pilot had planned to carry out the attack in July, but because of a personal connection to one of his crew members, he “took pity on him” and postponed the attack until another opportunity.
According to the investigation, al-Hammami had landed in Israel as early as June and prepared himself to become a “shahid,” or martyr.