Finance Minister Smotrich says "anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them"
Bezalel SmotrichMinister of Finance of Israel and chairman of the Religious Zionism party, in a post on X
In a Hebrew-language post on X at 10:06 UTC on September 30, 2026, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote that Israel must relate to the intention and not to the results. The Guardian's English translation says that "anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them" and that the same should apply to "any country or terrorist organisation that sent them." The post also gives thanks for the rescue.
“anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them – as should any country or terrorist organisation that sent them”
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did a flydubai pilot try to crash Israel-bound flight FZ1073?
On September 30, 2026, flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, dropped sharply in altitude en route, transmitted emergency transponder codes and landed at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. flydubai said an altercation occurred in the flight deck, and the Tabuk airport said both pilots were taken to hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and "apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," and Defense Minister Israel Katz called the incident "an attempted jihadist terrorist attack." flydubai said the reasons and motives were unknown and subject to a formal investigation. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and Saudi Arabia's National Transport Safety Center opened investigations. As of September 30, 2026, no investigating authority had reported findings, and we did not locate a public report that anyone had been charged. The disputed claim is whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash the aircraft.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Smotrich's post in Hebrew, about three and a half hours before the Defense Minister's statement. The Guardian's English translation of the post is cited as a separate source.
Reporting
About this source
The Guardian's live coverage. It gives an English translation of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's post and quotes passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon.
Reporting
About this source
NBC News report, first published 4:56 a.m. EDT and updated through the day. It gives no time for Spielman's remark. The classification of the incident in the paragraph is NBC's paraphrase, and only the quoted fragments are Spielman's words. The linked archive copy was captured at 13:53 UTC, before the paragraphs cited here were added.
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About this source
Later Reuters report, republished by Yahoo. It attributes the Omani-national identification to an Israeli official and says there was no immediate comment from Oman.
Before the quotation
The post appeared at 10:06 UTC, about three and a half hours before Katz's statement and before Netanyahu's video. At 07:49 UTC the Prime Minister's Office had said only that the incident was under control, and Reuters had quoted spokesperson Doron Spielman as saying it was not believed to have been a hijacking. AeroTime logged a Channel 12 report at 13:02 (UTC+3), which is 10:02 UTC, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official on whether the copilot tried to seize control of the aircraft and crash it. The Guardian's English text is a translation of the Hebrew post.
After the quotation
As of September 30, 2026, we did not locate a statement from any investigating authority saying that anyone sent the suspect or that an organization was involved. A senior U.S. official briefed on the Israeli investigation told NBC News there were no indications that Iran directed or was involved. The post gives 180 people aboard.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash FZ1073. Smotrich wrote as though the attempt were established ("anyone who tried to bring down a plane") and called for a penalty on that basis. We labeled it Condemned because it asserts the proposition. He cited no evidence for the attempt and did not say that anyone sent the suspect. His reference to a sending state or organization is conditional on someone having sent him.
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UAE aviation regulator calls FZ1073 a "security incident" under investigation and urges the public not to pre-empt the findings
General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates
“a security incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv has been brought under control ... its investigation teams, in coordination with the relevant authorities, are working to establish the cause and circumstances of the incident, including a review of operational and security aspects.”Read statement
Cite this record
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- Finance Minister Smotrich says "anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them"
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The Dispute Index. "Finance Minister Smotrich says "anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though they had murdered them"". First published: 2026-09-30. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/3855-in-a-hebrew-language-post-on-x-at