Al-Qaeda Calls for Attacks on Israeli Planes Following Flydubai Incident
Al-Qaeda supporters have called for attacks on Israeli and American planes following the attempted Flydubai hijacking. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities face scrutiny over security gaps as investigations into the co-pilot's background continue.
Al-Qaeda supporters have called for copycat attacks against Americans and Israeli passenger planes in a publication referencing the September 11 attacks, praising the hijacker of the Flydubai flight, Hammam al-Hamami. Four days after the attempted terror attack, Israeli authorities have yet to take responsibility for the security lapse or take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Al-Qaeda Call to Action
The call was reportedly published on Friday and removed the following day in the latest issue of "Al-Bayan", a weekly journal launched by Al-Qaeda supporters in July. According to the New York Post, the issue mentioned both the September 11 attacks and Wednesday's takeover attempt on Flydubai flight FZ1073. "The war is not over yet. Planes carrying Zionists, Americans, and other infidels fighting Islam are still flying in the skies, and they can be hit, as happened on September 11 and 30," the article threatened, accompanied by a picture of a plane crashing into the Twin Towers.
Despite Al-Qaeda's publications, no evidence has yet emerged that al-Hamami acted under the orders of the terrorist organization or any other external handler. Security officials estimate that al-Hamami underwent Islamic radicalization and acted on his own. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump both hinted that the co-pilot may have been activated.
Background and Investigation
Reports from Syria to Australia and the United Arab Emirates provide a general picture of al-Hamami's background. According to the Wall Street Journal, he grew up in Syria during the civil war that began in 2011, where his radicalization likely started. Later, according to The Guardian, the co-pilot received a visa to Australia, studying engineering in Melbourne for three years until his visa was canceled. Although official confirmation is lacking, he subsequently worked as a pilot for Oman Air, and after extremist materials were found in his possession, he was suspended in 2024 and fired a year later, joining Flydubai in early 2026.
"We estimate there were no such pilots. But we have no certainty. There is no 100% security, only if we stop aviation will everything be safe," officials stated.
The central question remains how a pilot with Omani citizenship, who should have raised all red flags, was still authorized to fly to Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged there was a "loophole" that al-Hamami exploited—the fact that a citizen of a country with no official relations with Israel was authorized to fly a plane there.
