Israelis could lose US visa waiver after flydubai attack revealed security lapses — report

Israelis could reportedly lose their right to enter the US without a visa due to security lapses that have been revealed after the thwarted terror attack on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week.

A US delegation will come to Israel in the coming days to review local authorities’ compliance with the security requirements of the US Visa Waiver Program, Channel 12 reported Tuesday. Currently, the delegation is in the United Arab Emirates, where it is examining aviation security procedures, the network said.

Israel joined the program in 2023, allowing citizens to travel to the US with an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form, rather than the lengthier process of applying for a visa. The delegation will reportedly examine whether Israel is complying with the conditions agreed upon at the time.

The review is part of the ongoing fallout from the September 30 attack on flydubai Flight 1073, in which the copilot, Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the plane’s captain, Smit Machchhar. He allegedly aimed to crash the plane and kill the approximately 180 people on board, the vast majority of them Israelis. Machchhar and several Israelis succeeded in thwarting the attack and subduing al-Hammami.

On Tuesday, nearly a week after the attack, Channel 13 reported that Flydubai has requested permission to resume its flights to Israel, saying that an investigation into the attack was concluding and many employees had been fired.

The report added that officials from the Transportation Ministry have also been invited to tour Dubai next week. But Transportation Minister Miri Regev has reportedly declined the airline’s request to resume flights.

The Transportation Ministry and security establishment have faced heavy criticism in the wake of the attack for failing to monitor pilots and crew from hostile countries who flew into Israel. Some 1,240 such aircrew members have entered the country over the past year, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday, which cited leaked remarks from a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

In the case of the attacking copilot, the lapse was especially jarring because he had expressed support for Al Qaeda on social media and was banned from flying in Oman because of concern over his extremist views.

Transportation Ministry reportedly refused security help

On Tuesday, new details emerged regarding the ministry’s questionable judgment around flight security, including its reported refusal of offers from security officials to boost oversight of foreign flights. The ministry is responsible for vetting foreign airline personnel.

In 2025, the Shin Bet and National Security Council proposed that a Shin Bet official be reassigned to the ministry as the lead intelligence officer, tasked with helping assess risks on foreign and charter flights into Israel, Army Radio reported, citing three sources.

Led by its Security Division chief Avri Cohen, the ministry opposed the idea, saying it didn’t want outside interference in its work.

According to the report, the Shin Bet then offered to host the Transportation Ministry Security Division for a multi-day seminar on threat assessment, airport and aviation security, and intelligence tools for ensuring flight security, but that didn’t take place either.

In those same discussions, the NSC reportedly pushed the Transportation Ministry to demand a budget increase from the Finance Ministry in order to upgrade outdated systems in the Aviation Security Operations Center. The NSC even told the ministry it would back the request with a professional evaluation, but the ministry did not submit the request, instead asking for increases elsewhere.

Despite the lack of a request, the Finance Ministry allocated an additional NIS 10 million (some $3.3 million) and 10 positions for the Transportation Ministry’s Security Division in the 2026 budget. The ministry received the money, reported Army Radio, but has not filled any of the positions.

Moreover, earlier this year, an internal Transportation Ministry debate took place over which division would handle security for foreign and chartered flights. The Shin Bet and NSC both pushed for it to be moved to the Civil Aviation Authority, which is bigger and better equipped to handle the task than the ministry’s Security Division.

But in June — despite refusing measures that would strengthen the division — Regev and Director General Moshe Ben Zaken decided to keep the mission in the Security Division, said Army Radio.

In a letter to the Shin Bet and NSC, Regev said she chose to “avoid organizational upheavals at this time” and didn’t want to waste time building up “a dedicated array in this sensitive field, which requires recruiting professional manpower, formulating an operational concept, adapting information systems.”

Responding to Army Radio, the Transportation Ministry said that it demanded additional funding, but has yet to receive it from the Finance Ministry.

Special ‘aviation visa’ proposed; adoption seen as unlikely

Channel 12 reported that now, Regev has asked for an additional NIS 40 million ($13 million) and 10 staff positions so her ministry can perform the necessary oversight of charter flights.

Regev also reportedly proposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials that Israel institute a special “aviation visa” for all arriving passengers and crew.

The visa would be approved by the Population and Immigration Authority 48 hours before departure, according to Hebrew media reports. Citizens of countries flagged as “red” under the new system would also be screened by the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies.

Channel 12 said officials gave the plan little chance of success because other countries could impose similar requirements on Israelis traveling abroad.

All stranded Israelis expected home by Thursday

Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry expects that by Thursday, all Israelis who had been stranded in Dubai following the attack will be back home, following a series of repatriation flights operated by Israeli carriers.

To date, 7,415 passengers have returned to Israel from Dubai on special flights operated by Israeli airlines, and via Abu Dhabi on commercial flights by Etihad Airways, according to the ministry.

The first flights from Dubai operated by Israeli airlines landed at Ben Gurion Airport late on Friday.

“We are continuing our concerted effort to complete the repatriation operation to ensure that Israelis can return to Israel safely, quickly, and in an orderly manner,” Regev said in a statement. “Our goal is to complete the mission as soon as possible, while addressing the needs of all Israelis wishing to return to Israel.”