Can Israel prove flydubai attack was terror plot? Access to Omani co-pilot crucial

"This is a jihadist terrorist attack," Defence Minister Israel Katz said while reacting to the attempted hijacking of flydubai Flight FZ1073. Israel has made its stance clear on the incident, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the Omani co-pilot, who allegedly tried to crash the plane carrying 174 passengers, a "terrorist". But for Israel to substantiate the claims, the Jewish nation will need to thoroughly investigate the incident and interrogate the co-pilot. One question that becomes interesting at the moment is whether Israel can get access to the co-pilot, with Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed, emerging as a key factor.The attempted hijacking of the flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on Wednesday (September 30), which safely landed in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk, has left more questions than answers. While much of the world is focusing on the heroics of Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, the Israeli passengers and off-duty pilots who subdued the Omani attacker and helped bring the aircraft safely to the ground, investigators — particularly in Israel — could soon face a difficult dilemma on how do you investigate an alleged crime when the suspected perpetrator is in the custody of a country with which you have no diplomatic relations?Several questions have dominated the headlines since Wednesday. One, how did an Omani pilot end up flying a route to Tel Aviv when Jerusalem specifically bars citizens of countries with which it has no diplomatic relations from operating flights into Israeli airspace? More importantly, what was the alleged hijacker's motive? Was he attempting to carry out a terrorist attack? And was he acting alone, or did he have accomplices or backers elsewhere?In an interview with US-based news broadcaster Fox News, Netanyahu said Jerusalem intended to get to the bottom of the incident. "We'll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we'll find out very soon," he said. Defence Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, was reported by The Times of Israel on Wednesday to have described the incident as a "jihadist terrorist attack". But statements and preliminary assessments aside, no definitive conclusions can yet be drawn about the incident — including how an Omani citizen was assigned to operate a flight to Israel and whether he intended to carry out a terrorist attack — until the investigation is complete. That will require an interrogation of the co-pilot, whom a fellow flydubai pilot described as a "religious extremist".And that is where the major problem could lie for Israel. The incident was thwarted by an Indian pilot, the flight landed in Saudi Arabia. The incident occurred over the kingdom's airspace, and the alleged hijacker is in Saudi's custody. He is also an Omani citizen.Israel maintains no diplomatic relations with either Saudi Arabia or Oman, and while it has warm ties with the UAE, it lacks a proper bilateral extradition treaty with either of the three Gulf nations. That could significantly complicate Jerusalem's efforts to investigate the incident, particularly if Israeli authorities require direct access to the suspect or need to formally seek his transfer.Demands are already growing within Jerusalem for the alleged Omani pilot to be extradited to Israel. The Times Of Israel reported National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as saying that he will demand that the security cabinet and the Justice Ministry "use all means available" to extradite the suspect and prosecute him in Israel.The Indian Captain Smit Machchhar has been airlifted to a hospital in Dubai from Saudi Arabia due to the severity of his injuries, according to India Today TV's Amit Bharadwaj. According to the US broadcaster CNN, the Omani co-pilot has been transferred to the UAE, to help investigate whether the violence was linked to terrorism.ISRAEL DENIED ACCESS AS SAUDI, EMIRATI AUTHORITIES BEGIN PROBEAccording to a report in the Israeli news outlet, Ynet, Saudi Arabia is positioned to play a central role in the investigation of what actually happened in the flydubai aircraft, because the Boeing 737 MAX 8 landed there, and the suspect is in Saudi's custody.The United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the home country of the airliner flydubai, will also take part, as well as Oman, since the alleged perpetrator is reportedly an Omani citizen. And since the aircraft in question is an American-made Boeing 737 MAX 8, US aviation authorities might become involved, reported Ynet.According to reports in the Associated Press (AP), and The Jerusalem Post, formal investigations have already started. The Post reported that the UAE's prosecutor general has ordered an investigation, because since the airliner in question was Emirati, Dubai's judicial authorities have full jurisdiction. Saudi authorities were reported by AP as having interrogated the Omani citizen multiple times, who remains in Saudi custody.It has been well established by now that the Omani co-pilot attacked the Indian Captain.Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry's statement on Thursday said that a preliminary investigation into the emergency landing of a flydubai flight found that "the pilot was assaulted by his co-pilot, resulting in various injuries to both". The Saudi ministry said that a security team from the UAE took part in the probe.So where do Israeli investigators come in?WILL ISRAELI OFFICIALS GET TO INTERROGATE OMANI CO-PILOT?AP reported on Thursday the Israeli PM Netanyahu as saying that he had spoken with the UAE's president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect. He further told CBS News that the pilot would soon be transferred to Emirati custody."He'll be, I assume, moved very quickly to Dubai," Netanyahu told CBS News on Thursday, adding that Israeli authorities will "join the interrogation and find out what happened there exactly."Another senior Israeli official told CBS News that the UAE's President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan personally told Netanyahu on Wednesday that he expected Saudi authorities to transfer the pilot to the UAE for questioning.With reports coming in that the Omani co-pilot has been shifted to Dubai, Israeli officials might get to question him.Ynet, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday that the Mossad is leading the investigation with assistance from the Shin Bet. The Saudis, however, do not seem particularly enthusiastic about Israel being involved.Writing on X, Guy Azriel, Diplomatic Correspondent at the Israeli news channel, i24NEWS, stated that "Israel is pushing for access to the co-pilot's interrogation, but Saudi Arabia is currently refusing. A security source tells i24NEWS that whether Israel insists on gaining access will depend on the information provided by the Saudis from their interrogation."And while Israeli officials are stating that the Omani pilot will be handed over to the Emiratis, there has been no confirmation yet from Saudi authorities, who have remained tight-lipped so far.HOW ISRAEL MIGHT PROBE FLYDUBAI CASEPerhaps the biggest problem for the Israeli investigators is the relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem, or rather the lack thereof.Saudi Arabia wouldn't have partnered with Israel in any probe. Reuters reported Saudi Arabia as having turned down an Israeli request to allow Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to enter the kingdom and evacuate passengers stranded after flydubai flight FZ1073.The hurdle gets overcome if the co-pilot is extradited to the UAE. Israel maintains positive ties with the UAE with the latter recognising the Jewish nation as a country in 2020, and Jerusalem providing Dubai with air defence assets.So what is the path ahead for Israel?For now, Israel could, of course, cooperate with Emirati authorities. The latter have themselves launched their own investigation, citing the fact that the airliner was Emirati and the aircraft was registered in the UAE as putting the case in their jurisdiction. PM Netanyahu has declared his country's intent to do the same.Since the aircraft is registered in the UAE, Israel's participation could enable it to access vital evidence like cockpit recordings and black box data which will have recorded everything that took place in the cockpit. Jerusalem could also question officials of flydubai to get more information about the alleged Omani would-be hijacker, and how he was assigned to a flight operating in Israeli airspace.But a complete joint Israeli-Emirati investigation would need access to the Omani pilot in order to ascertain his motives. While the UAE and Saudi Arabia have signed formal judicial-cooperation arrangements, which also allow for extraditions, it is up to Riyadh's discretion whether it will send the Omani pilot to the UAE as Netanyahu expects it would.Once the Saudi investigation was over, he will be handed over to the UAE for its probe, The Times of Israel reported on October 1, quoting an Israeli official. The official said Israel was "expecting more significant findings from the Emirati investigation".As such, the key fact remains, the alleged attacker is officially in Saudi custody, and Israel does not have a straightforward legal mechanism to compel Riyadh to give Israeli investigators access to him. If the co-pilot is handed over to the UAE, then Israel has a chance of getting access to him. Until then, it will be difficult for Jerusalem to properly investigate what transpired on flydubai FZ1073 on September 30.- Ends