'Netanyahu connecting flydubai incident to Iran for political reasons', report says

A source close to the UAE government claims the Israeli government is employing the flydubai incident for political gain, delaying the restoration of flydubai services, according to Ynet. Following the incident, Arkia and Israir planes brought stranded Israeli passengers to Dubai, while flydubai announced a suspension of all flights to Israel.

One major issue was an Emirati demand for a cargo aircraft to transport passengers' luggage. The source dismissed the UAE's term "rescue flights" as a war-like exaggeration, stating there's no war in the country. They also accused the UAE of believing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is linking the attack to Iran for political reasons ahead of Israel's election.

The source compared Israel's actions to those of an arsonist who starts a fire and then tries to extinguish it. Netanyahu claimed a disaster on the scale of 9/11 was prevented and the attacker underwent Islamist radicalization to crash the plane with passengers on board. The source argues that the one halting the flights is Israel, comparing it to a country facing a war or emergency.

Etihad is operating eight flights to Abu Dhabi starting Sunday with enhanced security protocols, which could be applied to flydubai. Emirati authorities are investigating the co-pilot suspected of trying to crash the flight and are willing to tighten screening procedures for aircrews. The source acknowledged a failure but accused Israel of prolonging the crisis despite Emirati cooperation, stating that the Israeli government doesn't seem to understand what it's doing.