Israel was preparing to shoot down hijacked aircraft:Fighter jets sent after alert; mid-air strike seen as only way to prevent 9/11-style attack

Israel had prepared to shoot down a hijacked aircraft that had taken off from Dubai. Fighter jets were scrambled as soon as the hijacking alert was received. The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers. According to a report by The Times of Israel, the government feared that if control of the aircraft was not regained, it could reach Israel and carry out an attack like the 9/11 attacks. To avert the threat, the aircraft might have had to be shot down in mid-air. Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said that if the situation had not been brought under control, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might have had to decide on taking action. However, the aircraft’s crew regained control and it was safely landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israel Was Also Prepared to Negotiate with the Hijackers Israel had also prepared for the possibility that the hijackers might hold passengers hostage aboard the aircraft and put forward their demands. To deal with such a situation, Israel’s national counter-terrorism and hostage-rescue unit, Yamam, was put on alert. The plan was that if the hijackers made any demands in exchange for releasing the passengers, the special unit would take charge of negotiating with them and safely rescuing the hostages. Israel Would Have Sent Commandos if the Aircraft Had Gone Down in Another Country Israel had also prepared for a situation in which the hijacked aircraft crashed in Jordan or Saudi Arabia instead. In such an eventuality, a plan was made to send Shaldag, the Israeli Air Force’s special commando unit, to rescue the passengers and crew trapped aboard the aircraft. The same unit took part in the operation to rescue two US aircrew members after an American F-15E Strike Eagle crashed in Iran in April. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. Nineteen terrorists from the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger aircraft. Two of the aircraft were crashed into the towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, while another was crashed into the headquarters of the US Department of Defence, the Pentagon. The fourth aircraft crashed in a field after the passengers resisted.