Israeli opposition leader says Netanyahu gov’t ‘learned nothing’ from Oct. 7 after FlyDubai incident

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had “learned nothing at all” from the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, accusing it of evading responsibility following the FlyDubai incident.

“Those who refuse to investigate and run from responsibility out of fear cannot prevent the next disaster,” Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition Yashar Party, said on the US social media platform X.

He said Transport Minister Miri Regev should have resigned over the incident, adding that Netanyahu should have dismissed her if she failed to step down.

“In a worthy and properly functioning government, the transport minister would have submitted her resignation last night,” he said.

Eisenkot also urged Israelis to vote in the Oct. 27 general election, pledging to bring “worthy and responsible leadership” within less than a month.

Earlier Sunday, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also criticized Netanyahu over the incident, calling it a “terrible and shocking failure” and linking it to the failures surrounding Oct. 7.

The criticism followed Wednesday’s incident involving FlyDubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was diverted to the Saudi city of Tabuk after an altercation in the cockpit.

United Arab Emirates authorities said a preliminary investigation found that the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.

The plane landed safely, while an investigation into the circumstances and motive behind the incident remains underway.