The accused flydubai hijacker chillingly told investigators he had a “dream” to crash the Israel-bound plane into Tel Aviv airport — and he is expected to face the death penalty, according to the report.
Omani native Hamam al-Hammami, 29, is said to have researched airlines that flew to Israel and even visited the Jewish State months before Wednesday’s cockpit attack to gather intelligence, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“I tried to get hired by all the airlines,” he said. “I checked which ones flew to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai. I planned [the operation] even before I was hired.”
Al-Hammami, who has only been with flydubai for eight months, was reportedly intent on crashing a plane in July but had a change of heart because he was close to a crew member, the outlet reported. But his obsession to crash a plane on Israeli soil remained. “The dream was to crash into Ben-Gurion [Tel Aviv] airport,” he said.
Al-Hammami had also planned to crash a plane into the city’s Azrieli Towers, mirroring a 9/11 style attack, according to Ynet.
He wanted the attack to be so fast that the Israeli military wouldn’t have enough time to scramble its fighter jets, according to the outlet.
Investigators suspect al-Hammami was a “lone wolf” rather than someone carrying out orders of a terror group, a source told the Jerusalem Post, and interrogation in the United Arab Emirates is continuing.
A senior Emirati source told Ynet that the co-pilot is set to face the death penalty.
Prosecutors want to impose the harshest possible penalty after al-Hammami allegedly attacked Smit Machchhar with a crash axe.
Mossad investigators and Israeli aviation experts have since landed in Abu Dhabi as part of the investigation.
The Israeli investigators will be part of the interrogation, according to Ynet, which also reported that two US intelligence agents have also jetted out to Abu Dhabi.
It’s not known if the US authorities will be part of the interrogation process.
Saudi and Omani officials will also continue to quiz al-Hammami, according to the outlet.
Mossad and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, have already come under criticism for their alleged failure when it came to vetting the pilot.
Israel and Oman have no diplomatic relations, and only pilots with passports from countries where the Jewish State holds relations can land at the country’s airports.
Shin Bet says the Transportation Ministry is responsible for vetting passenger lists, while Miri Regev, the Transportation Minister, says security agencies are responsible for flight security.
She claims her department wasn’t given a list of passengers or any warnings about the pilots.
Sickening social media posts have since emerged which appear to show al-Hammami touting violence against women and expressing a hatred for Jewish people.
“I’d stomp on your head, wipe the floor with you, make you an example to others, and then divorce you,” he allegedly said in an exchange with one woman while he was studying aviation management remotely at Buckinghamshire New University , the Telegraph reported.
With Post wires.
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