JERUSALEM, Oct. 10 — The Israeli military’s protocol for responding to incidents involving civilian passenger aircraft is codenamed “World Trade,” a name cleared for publication by military censorship on Saturday, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News reported.
According to the channel, the protocol was activated during the Sept. 30 incident involving a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai aircraft.
It is designed to enable fighter jets to respond to hijackers or “terrorists,” contain the incident and prevent further casualties or damage, including to strategic assets, while protecting passengers and crew, the report said.
It added that depending on the circumstances, scrambled fighter jets can escort the aircraft to a secure landing at an airport or, in an extreme scenario, shoot it down to prevent a terrorist attack.
Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said Friday that investigations into the Sept. 30 incident revealed that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv.
On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida militants hijacked four airplanes in attacks on the United States, including two that struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing about 3,000 people. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
