Israel election weeks away, Netanyahu seizes on Flydubai incident to bolster his image

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The apparent attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight carrying 170 mostly Israeli passengers was another reminder to Israelis of the constant threat of terror and war. Only the bravery of the chief pilot and passengers prevented a major disaster.

A few hours earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video warning of attempts to harm Israelis in the lead-up to the country’s general election on October 27. Initially, his opponents criticised this as a stunt to divert public discourse towards security concerns, and away from his part in the devastating failures that enabled the October 7 Hamas attacks.

But after the suspected terror incident on the Flydubai plane, Netanyahu can claim he was right. With the elections approaching, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history is hoping he can still restore his image as “the protector of Israel”.

Netanyahu was quick to incorporate the plane attack into his campaign by posting on his social media accounts a video and images of him embracing and praising one of the passengers (a Netanyahu supporter) who stormed the cockpit, his shirt still stained with blood.