In the wake of the thwarted terror hijacking attempt aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 bound for Tel Aviv, Israeli opposition leaders seized upon the event on Sunday to launch a scathing attack against the government and the appointment of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Addressing the harrowing incident, in which a catastrophic mass-casualty disaster was averted solely due to the quick intervention of heroic passengers, Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman declared: “The head of the Shin Bet must draw personal conclusions and step down. Were I prime minister, I would not leave him many choices.”
Liberman voiced sharp criticism over the conduct of state security and counter-terror agencies, questioning the oversight mechanisms in place: “How is it conceivable that a pilot dismissed from two separate airlines following rapid religious radicalization, who openly shared Al-Qaeda propaganda on his social media accounts, lands in Israel, conducts pre-operational reconnaissance, and enters the country as if nothing were amiss? Worse still, disturbing press reports have uncovered alarming details regarding Iranian and Syrian pilots employed by foreign carriers operating direct flights into Israeli airspace.”
The assault was joined by the Democrats’ Chairman Yair Golan, who accused the governing coalition of gross negligence and dereliction of duty: “The flydubai flight failure is living, definitive evidence of the absolute rot infecting this government of destruction. Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers have compromised the lives of Israeli citizens for the sake of cheap political wheeling and dealing, criminal amateurism, and the political appointment of unqualified cronies.”