The flydubai passengers have returned home safely, and that is all that matters for now - editorial

That must be the first and most important response to Wednesday’s attempted terror hijacking of flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers, 166 of them Israelis, when one of its pilots stabbed another pilot and attempted to hijack the plane. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the incident was an attempted hijacking and terror attack, while Israel’s security establishment also assessed it as an intended act of terror.

During the struggle, the aircraft plunged thousands of meters before eventually landing safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 174 passengers survived.

What could have become one of the worst aviation disasters in Israel’s history instead ended with families hearing the words they had desperately hoped for: Their loved ones were safe.

That outcome was made possible in no small part by remarkable bravery aboard the aircraft.

Passenger tells 'Post' of heroic actions of fellow passengers aboard flight

One of the passengers who helped stop the hijacker told The Jerusalem Post that passengers near the cockpit rushed toward the danger as the struggle unfolded. They helped additional pilots reach the cockpit and subdued the terrorist, reportedly using charging cables to restrain him. An Israeli dentist aboard the flight treated the wounded pilot.

None of those passengers boarded their flight expecting to become part of a life-or-death struggle. Yet when the moment came, they acted. Their courage, composure, and willingness to put themselves in danger to protect everyone else aboard deserve immense credit.

So, too, does the United Arab Emirates.

Serious questions will have to be answered about how the terrorist came to be piloting an Israel-bound aircraft and whether every security requirement governing flights to Israel was properly followed. Those questions are legitimate, and they should be investigated thoroughly.

But this incident is not an indictment of the UAE.

One terrorist does not represent a country. The UAE has maintained its relationship with Israel through years of regional upheaval, including war, and Wednesday’s attack should not be allowed to undermine a relationship that has become an important part of the region since the Abraham Accords.

Another country also deserves Israel’s gratitude: Saudi Arabia.

Israel and Saudi Arabia still do not have formal diplomatic relations. Yet when an aircraft carrying 166 Israelis needed somewhere to land after a terror attack in the cockpit, Saudi Arabia opened its doors.

The Saudis did more than provide a runway.

Passengers received food and medical care after landing in Tabuk; the wounded were treated, and frightened children and families were looked after. One Israeli passenger described the Saudi treatment as “very nice” and “very understanding.”

At a moment of extraordinary fear, Saudi authorities responded with humanity and professionalism. Israelis should recognize that and say thank you.

There will, of course, be time for questions, and there should be.

The investigation must determine exactly how this attack was possible, whether security procedures failed, whether warning signs were missed, and what changes are needed to ensure nothing like it happens again.

A political argument is already developing around the attack.

Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that Israel’s enemies could try to attack ahead of the election. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who received a security briefing from Netanyahu that evening, said afterward that nothing resembling the flydubai incident had been presented to him and accused government figures of trying to use the attack for political purposes.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) responded that Netanyahu had been briefed about a significant increase in terrorist activity around the world.

Those competing accounts will need to be examined. Israelis deserve to know what intelligence existed, what the government knew, and whether the statements now being made accurately reflect the information available beforehand.

But that reckoning does not have to overshadow what happened on Wednesday.

For now, think of the passengers who ran toward danger. Think of the pilots who regained control of a plunging aircraft. Think of the dentist who treated a wounded pilot in midair. Think of the Saudis who received Israelis in Tabuk and cared for them.

And think of 174 families who could so easily have received a very different call.

A terrorist tried to hijack an aircraft carrying 166 Israelis.