Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised passenger Yaniv Hayoun for his actions during an incident on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026. Hayoun helped subdue the co-pilot, who was allegedly involved in a hijacking attempt, preventing what Netanyahu described as a potential disaster. Netanyahu stated on Fox News that Hayoun's actions demonstrated 'coolness of judgement and heroism' and compared the situation to the September 11 attacks.
After the flight landed safely, Netanyahu met with Hayoun, who was reportedly injured during the incident. Hayoun described his decision to intervene as something he 'just had to do.' Netanyahu also mentioned that he spoke with Hayoun's children, who were on the flight and described the chaotic moments during the incident.
While Netanyahu did not label the incident as a terrorist attack, he expressed a commitment to investigate the motives of the co-pilot and whether there were any connections to Iran. 'We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out, very soon,' he stated.