Israeli investigators expected to question flydubai copilot in the UAE

Israeli officials are expected to question the copilot accused of trying to bring down a flydubai passenger flight that was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, according to a Reuters report citing a source briefed on the investigation. The Times of Israel, relaying the Reuters account, said the copilot had been moved to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, and that the questioning was expected to take place there.

An Israeli government official, asked by Reuters about Israeli involvement, said Israeli investigators would join the inquiry led by the UAE and work with Emirati authorities to establish what happened and to look into the suspect's motives and background. The source who first described the plan declined to say which Israeli agency or authority would be involved. The Jerusalem Post and several Hebrew-language outlets, including Ynet, carried the same Reuters report.

Who is leading the investigation

The inquiry is being run by the Emiratis, not by Israel. Ynet reported that the case is in the hands of an Emirati security body that it described as the counterpart of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service, formally the Israel Security Agency. Ynet did not name the Emirati agency in the material available to us.

According to the Reuters account carried by The Times of Israel, the UAE state news agency said on Thursday that Emirati authorities had opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and the motives behind it. The agency said the investigation would also seek to determine whether the incident was connected to any terrorist activity or purpose. The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately answer a Reuters question about whether Israeli officials would be allowed to question the copilot.

The suspect

Ynet and the Hebrew news channel News.co.il both described the copilot as Omani. The Hebrew-language Telegram channel Abu Ali Express said the copilot is suspected of stabbing the captain before attempting to crash the aircraft, and that he is now in the UAE. The stabbing detail does not appear in the other reports reviewed here, so it rests on that single outlet's account.

A photo caption published by The Jerusalem Post described a flydubai Boeing aircraft that had been bound for Israel from the UAE as having diverted to Saudi Arabia. The caption is attached to a Reuters handout image, and the text available to us does not set out the course of the flight in further detail.

A sensitive question for Abu Dhabi

Israel and the UAE have formal diplomatic relations, and flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv are part of the links that followed. flydubai is a carrier based in Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE; Abu Dhabi is the federal capital.

Ynet reported that despite the close relationship between the two countries, Emirati officials will try to keep the role of Israeli personnel in the case out of view. That framing sits alongside the Israeli government official's description of Israeli investigators taking part openly alongside their Emirati counterparts. The two accounts are not necessarily in conflict, but they place different emphasis on how visible the Israeli role will be.

Ynet also said its reporting examined the punishment the copilot could face if convicted and the diplomatic considerations likely to shape the case, though those details are not included in the material available to us.

How the reports differ

The core claim, that Israeli officials are expected to question the copilot, traces back to Reuters, which relied on a source briefed on the investigation and on a separate Israeli government official. Most of the outlets here are repeating that one report rather than confirming it independently. The wording varies slightly: some Hebrew outlets speak of Israeli investigators questioning the suspect, while the Israeli official quoted by Reuters spoke of Israeli participation in an inquiry led by the UAE.

What the reports do not say

• Which Israeli agency, if any single one, will take part in the questioning.
• Whether the UAE has formally agreed to Israeli officials questioning the suspect; the UAE foreign ministry had not responded.
• The copilot's name, and any official confirmation of his nationality from the airline or from Emirati authorities.
• The condition of the captain, the number of passengers and crew on board, or whether anyone else was hurt.
• Where the aircraft landed, beyond a Jerusalem Post photo caption referring to a diversion to Saudi Arabia.
• Any motive. The Emirati inquiry is examining whether the incident had a terrorist purpose, and no finding has been reported.