NewzThe Indian airline captain who helped avert an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight said in a live video call that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save passengers after being stabbed by his co-pilot. Meanwhile, a Palestinian citizen who was running in Israel’s upcoming election is withdrawing his candidacy following comments over Hamas’ Oct. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday.
Wounded captain says he had to get back on feet to save passengers The FlyDubai captain told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he knew he had to regain control to save everyone on board, after he was stabbed by his co-pilot and the aircraft plunged into a steep descent. Smit Machchhar said in the video call that was broadcast live from a hospital in Abu Dhabi. At one point I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives.” Machchhar was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said.
The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with 182 people on board, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
— More coverage on the attempt to crash the plane is available here. Palestinian running in Israel’s upcoming election withdraws candidacy Sami Abou Shehadeh, the chairman of the left-wing Balad party, said he would withdraw from Israel’s upcoming election after the country’s Supreme Court president said a majority of justices were prepared to uphold his disqualification. Abou Shehadeh’s candidacy was challenged over an editorial he wrote in the newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed the day after Hamas’ Oct.
The article did not condemn Hamas and argued that, given conditions in Gaza, it was surprising violence hadn’t erupted earlier. In a subsequent article, Abou Shehadeh, a former member of Israel’s Knesset, called Hamas’ attack both unacceptable and a crime. He said he hadn’t known the scale of the vio…
7 attack on Israel.Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Full coverage is available here.Wounded captain says he had to get back on feet to save passengersThe FlyDubai captain told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he knew he had to regain control to save everyone on board, after he was stabbed by his co-pilot and the aircraft plunged into a steep descent.“I had so many wounds. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.— More coverage on the attempt to crash the plane is available here.Palestinian running in Israel’s upcoming election withdraws candidacySami Abou Shehadeh, the chairman of the left-wing Balad party, said he would withdraw from Israel’s upcoming election after the country’s Supreme Court president said a majority of justices were prepared to uphold his disqualification.Abou Shehadeh’s candidacy was challenged over an editorial he wrote in the newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed the day after Hamas’ Oct.
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