Al-Qaeda calls for attacks on Israeli, US flights

The Al-Qaeda terror organization has issued a dangerous call to its supporters worldwide to carry out copycat attacks against American and Israeli targets in civil aviation, praising the attempted hijacking of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight that was thwarted last Wednesday, the New York Post reported.

The call appeared in the latest issue of "Al-Bayan," a magazine distributed by the group's supporters on Telegram channels. The Arabic-language article featured images of the September 11 attacks alongside footage from last week's hijacking attempt, with explicit threats declaring that the war against the West continues and that aircraft carrying "Zionists and Americans" are legitimate targets in the skies.

The writers also declared that the day of the "evil American empire" will come to an end. The escalating incitement follows the unthinkable drama that unfolded aboard Fly Dubai flight FZ1073, which was en route from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.

During the flight, the 29-year-old Omani co-pilot suddenly attacked the captain with an emergency axe taken from the cockpit, stabbed him, and fought for the controls in an attempt to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard. As a result of the struggle in the cockpit, the plane plunged sharply by approximately 18,000 feet, throwing passengers into extreme panic.

Thanks to the rare resourcefulness of fighters, crew members and passengers on board, israelis on board managed to overpower the co-pilot and neutralize him. Two additional Fly Dubai pilots who happened to be on the flight took control and landed the plane safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

Scenes from the landing at Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The investigation into the incident, conducted by the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, officially determined that it was an attempted, premeditated terror attack. Meanwhile, intelligence sources and reports in Israel indicated that al-Hamami underwent a deep process of religious radicalization and was directly influenced by Al-Qaeda ideology.

As part of the investigation's findings, it emerged that approximately nine hours after the attack was thwarted, while the attacker was already in custody in Saudi Arabia, a sequence of timed posts was uploaded to his LinkedIn and Instagram accounts. The videos that were distributed showed clips filmed from the cockpit focusing on nearby Israeli aircraft, and ended with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor who was killed by the United States.

International terror experts note that Al-Qaeda is now attempting to exploit the incident to incite additional "lone wolf" attacks around the world. The content distributed online also included references to Humam al-Balawi, the Jordanian doctor who carried out a deadly suicide bombing against a CIA base in Afghanistan in 2009.

The experts explain that the combination of a prestigious and established professional background, such as that of a civilian pilot, with extremist jihadist ideology, represents a familiar pattern of operation that deeply concerns aviation and security authorities in the West.

At this stage, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that it is closely monitoring the investigation's findings in coordination with international law enforcement agencies, with the aim of thwarting future threats to civil aviation.

US President Donald Trump linked Iran to the attempted attack on the Fly Dubai flight to Israel during a conversation with reporters. When asked whether he believes there is a connection between Iran and the Omani pilot, he replied: "We're looking into it. From what I'm hearing, yes." He added: "If it turns out Iran is behind the attack, we will strike them hard."