Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar is being lauded by Israel for his brave actions that saved hundreds of Israeli lives during a mid-air crisis. Machchhar, despite being stabbed by his co-pilot and the plane plunging dramatically, managed to regain control and allow passengers to overpower the assailant. His courage, alongside the quick actions of passengers and crew, averted a major tragedy, earning him immense gratitude from Israel's Consul General to South India, Orli Weitzman. The incident highlights the strong, heartwarming ties between India and Israel, symbolizing a true alliance forged in a moment of extreme danger. While investigations into potential external involvement are underway, Israel reaffirms its commitment to robust relations with the UAE, underscoring that such incidents will not derail diplomatic progress. The event has become a political talking point in Israel ahead of elections, though its ultimate impact remains uncertain amidst broader geopolitical considerations and ongoing discussions about regional peace plans.

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar is being lauded by Israel for his brave actions that saved hundreds of Israeli lives during a mid-air crisis. Machchhar, despite being stabbed by his co-pilot and the plane plunging dramatically, managed to regain control and allow passengers to overpower the assailant. His courage, alongside the quick actions of passengers and crew, averted a major tragedy, earning him immense gratitude from Israel's Consul General to South India, Orli Weitzman. The incident highlights the strong, heartwarming ties between India and Israel, symbolizing a true alliance forged in a moment of extreme danger. While investigations into potential external involvement are underway, Israel reaffirms its commitment to robust relations with the UAE, underscoring that such incidents will not derail diplomatic progress. The event has become a political talking point in Israel ahead of elections, though its ultimate impact remains uncertain amidst broader geopolitical considerations and ongoing discussions about regional peace plans.

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar is being lauded by Israel for his brave actions that saved hundreds of Israeli lives during a mid-air crisis. Machchhar, despite being stabbed by his co-pilot and the plane plunging dramatically, managed to regain control and allow passengers to overpower the assailant. His courage, alongside the quick actions of passengers and crew, averted a major tragedy, earning him immense gratitude from Israel's Consul General to South India, Orli Weitzman. The incident highlights the strong, heartwarming ties between India and Israel, symbolizing a true alliance forged in a moment of extreme danger. While investigations into potential external involvement are underway, Israel reaffirms its commitment to robust relations with the UAE, underscoring that such incidents will not derail diplomatic progress. The event has become a political talking point in Israel ahead of elections, though its ultimate impact remains uncertain amidst broader geopolitical considerations and ongoing discussions about regional peace plans.

Israel is very thankful to flydubai captain Smit Machchhar for his very brave act in saving hundreds of Israeli lives, said Orli Weitzman, Israel's Consul General to South India.

“He, together with passengers onboard, played a very big role in averting a very big tragedy and Israel is very grateful for that,” Weitzman said. “The fact that we are speaking today of what could have been, rather than what happened, is very important. Captain Smit had a very big part in that,” she added.

Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot, who also sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 m) in less than 30 seconds. Though he was bleeding profusely, Machchhar managed to click the release to open the cockpit door, which allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and enable a second pair of flydubai pilots who were on board to land the jet in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Weitzman believes the heroic deed by Captain Machchhar reflected the warm ties enjoyed by India and Israel. “As a consul general, I talk a lot about the good relations between India and Israel and the cooperation in the fields of defence, agriculture and water. But I think what we saw yesterday was the heroic act of an Indian who risked his life to save hundreds of Israelis. Once he allowed the passengers inside the cockpit, the Israeli doctor onboard rushed to make sure the captain was stabilised. That, to me, is a great symbol of the true love between  Israel and India. It is very heartwarming, and we realise India is a true ally,” she added.

Probe into incident

On the potential Iranian involvement, Weitzman said Israel has experts investigating the incident. “It's too early to understand who exactly is behind this. But there are regimes, countries and forces in the Middle East who are willing to destabilise and hurt the Israelis. We cannot ignore these forces,” she added.

But Weitzman said Israel's ties with the UAE will continue despite how Emiratis and Israelis and the Abraham Accord were targeted. “This will not affect our relations with the UAE. There will be a probe on what happened and who is involved. But the relations between the UAE and Israel will remain strong and profound,” she added.

Israel’s election and flydubai incident

The incident happened just weeks before Israel’s election and has become a political flashpoint in the country. Government allies claim the incident vindicated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warnings of pre-election attacks, opposition leaders called it cheap politics. “Nothing even remotely resembling this morning’s plane incident came up in the security briefing with the prime minister last night. Nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint,” Lapid said.

“The whole spin that the mouthpieces are pushing now only proves what was already clear yesterday — that once again they are trying to play cheap politics at the expense of Israel’s security. An irresponsible bunch,” Lapid added.

However, Weitzman stated that it is too early to say whether this could affect the elections. “Elections are an internal issue, and at this point, it is too early to talk about whether the flight incident could have an impact. Israeli elections are much more complicated and are more than just a single incident,” she said.

Gaza peace plan

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejects the U.S.-backed 15-point Gaza peace plan, Weitzman thinks Israel has to ensure the safety of its citizens. “We saw what happened when Hamas had a free hand in Gaza. Israel works hard to ensure peace in the Middle East, but it has to be done by ensuring terrorists group don’t have the will and the means to target Israelis. The minute they have these, Israelis will be targeted. So, any solution has to take into account the safety of the Israelis,” she added.

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