From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 5, 2026
Transportation Ministry letter admits responsibility for security of inbound flights
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Amid buck-passing and blame deflection over the gaping security flaws revealed by the attempted terror attack on flydubai FZ1073 last Wednesday, a letter sent by the Ministry of Transportation the next day explicitly confirms that “the Security Division of the Israeli Ministry of Transport bears the responsibility for the security of inbound flights to Israel.”
Underlining the recognition of a near-disaster averted on the flight a day earlier thanks to the actions of the Indian pilot and Israeli passengers who thwarted the terrorist, the letter states that aircraft operators must not let citizens of enemy countries pilot, crew, or even travel on flights to Israel.
The letter, headed “Security Directive 2026: Security Measures for Foreign Flights Entering the Israeli FIR,” is signed by Avri Cohen, “Senior Head of Security Division,” and was sent to security managers at multiple foreign airlines.
It warns the operators that the ministry will be conducting recurring assessments to ensure that they are implementing the necessary programs, measures, and procedures to address the threats and risks associated with flights to Israel, and notes that it will conduct “on-site audits” to ensure this is the case.
It also states, Channel 12 reports, that the operators are responsible for ensuring that no pilots or cockpit crew members on flights that enter Israel’s Flight Information Region, or even on board the aircraft, are citizens or dual nationals of a country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. It instructs airline operators to refer to a separate list of such countries.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev has said in the wake of the attack that security for foreign flights is the responsibility of the security services. She said the Transportation Ministry is not an intelligence body, does not run checks, and has no access to the data that would enable them.
Opposition leaders have called for her resignation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped the current head of the National Security Council to lead an investigation into the failures related to the Flight 1073 attack.
A former head of the NSC charged earlier today that a probe led by NSC head Shmuel Ben Ezra would be nothing more than a cover-up, given that the NSC is the body responsible for preventing situations like the flydubai attack by coordinating with the relevant bodies, which in this case include the Transportation Ministry, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad. The NSC is run out of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Times of Israel Community.