00:18Saudi Arabia says no to Israel, even as more than 170 passengers remain stranded after
00:27a terrifying mid-air emergency.
00:30The dramatic twist came after Fly Dubai Flight FZ-1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv,
00:40was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
00:45According to Reuters, Israel asked Saudi Arabia for permission to send its own military aircraft
00:52into the kingdom to bring the mostly Israeli passengers home.
00:57Israel was reportedly preparing C-130J Super Hercules transport planes for the mission,
01:05but Saudi Arabia refused the request.
01:08The decision carries particular significance because Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have
01:15formal diplomatic relations.
01:17Reuters cited two Saudi security sources for the refusal.
01:22Saudi Arabia's government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
01:28The passengers had already endured a terrifying ordeal aboard the original flight.
01:34Fly Dubai confirmed that an altercation occurred inside the cockpit and said the aircraft was
01:41secured by on-duty Fly Dubai crew members who were traveling on the flight.
01:46The aircraft was then diverted and landed safely at Tabuk Airport.
01:51The airline said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for.
01:56Israeli officials gave a much more serious account, saying the co-pilot stabbed the captain
02:03and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft.
02:07The Boeing 737 sent emergency signals and experienced a dramatic loss of altitude before eventually landing safely in Saudi Arabia.
02:18After the landing, the passengers remained in Tabuk while arrangements were made to get them to Israel.
02:25But with Israel's military pickup request denied, the passengers ultimately continued their journey aboard a replacement Fly Dubai aircraft.
02:35The replacement flight later arrived safely at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv,
02:40bringing relief to passengers who had spent hours stranded in Saudi Arabia.
02:46The episode highlights a striking contradiction.
02:49Saudi Arabia allowed the distressed civilian aircraft to land and worked with authorities after the emergency.
02:57But it would not allow Israeli military aircraft to enter its territory to collect the passengers.
03:04And that refusal comes against the backdrop of ongoing regional efforts to expand cooperation between Israel and Arab states,
03:14even though formal Saudi-Israeli diplomatic relations remain absent.
03:19Meanwhile, investigations into exactly what happened inside the cockpit are continuing.
03:26Fly Dubai has urged people not to speculate about the motive while authorities establish the facts.
03:33For the passengers, however, the immediate ordeal is over.
03:37They survived the emergency, escaped the chaos in the cockpit, spent hours stranded in Saudi Arabia and finally made it
03:45home to Israel.
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