From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Netanyahu tells India’s Modi he wants him and flydubai pilot to light Independence Day torch
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with his Indian counterpart and longtime ally Narendra Modi, informing the latter of his decision to invite him and Indian flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar to light a torch at Israel’s next Independence Day celebrations.
While Netanyahu does not have the authority to unilaterally determine who will light a torch at next year’s traditional ceremony – as it is decided through a government-run selection process – he announced the decision earlier this month, after Machchhar helped thwart an attempted terror attack on flydubai flight 1073.
“Modi thanked me for the invitation and said that on land and in the air, India and Israel are fighting terrorism together. He also commended the strong and decades-old ties between us,” Netanyahu says in a post on X.
मैंने अपने मित्र, भारत के प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी से बात की और उन्हें इज़राइल के स्वतंत्रता दिवस पर वीर भारतीय पायलट के साथ मशाल प्रज्वलित करने के लिए आमंत्रित किया।
मोदी ने निमंत्रण के लिए मुझे धन्यवाद दिया और कहा कि ज़मीन पर और हवा में, भारत और इज़राइल आतंकवाद के ख़िलाफ़… pic.twitter.com/L4FTUw81OH
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 22, 2026
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