Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the head of the National Security Council to conduct a comprehensive investigation into foreign airline security and vetting procedures for foreign pilots and carriers operating flights to Israel.
In what may be seen as a rebuke to the Transport Ministry under Minister Miri Regev, the Prime Minister directed Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the National Security Council in the Prime Minister's Office, to lead the inquiry and re-examine all security protocols governing foreign civil aviation to Israel.
The move follows widespread criticism of the Transport Ministry since the revelation of the Flydubai terrorist co-pilot's identity, his clear religious extremism that reportedly led to his removal from two other airlines in the past, and his multiple flights into Israel in recent months without incident.
