From Flydubai to Oct. 7: Israel's security failures back under scrutiny

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

The Israeli security establishment has entered a phase of failure over the Flydubai incident after it was revealed that Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to bring down the aircraft, had been in Tel Aviv a week before the incident.

More concerning is what Channel 12 reported, saying al-Hammami was not the only airline crew member to enter Israel despite being prohibited from doing so under a law that bars citizens of enemy states or countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel from entering the country.

According to the channel, citing an employee at Ben Gurion Airport, numerous airline crew members holding Lebanese and Syrian passports entered the airport without objection. Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi pilots may also have entered the country over the past several years.

While an Israeli team is participating in the investigation in the United Arab Emirates, a security official was quoted as saying that those responsible for monitoring airline crew and passenger lists had received the names of the Flydubai flight’s crew members and passengers in advance but took no action and did not report any suspicions.

Information continues to emerge, revealing, according to an internal document, a serious flaw in the system for securing foreign flights operating in Israel. 

Responsibility is being passed between security agencies and the Transportation Ministry, reviving discussion of Oct. 7 and the failures surrounding the events of that day, as well as the wars that followed and are now approaching their fourth year.