Netanyahu says Saudi authorities arrest Flydubai pilot, question him. Defense minister claims Flydubai was 'attempted terror attack'

 The Flydubai pilot who stabbed his co-pilot during a flight to Tel Aviv has been arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"This morning, there was a serious security incident on a flight from Dubai to Israel. Almost all the passengers on the flight were Israelis. During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the second pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board.  The stabbing pilot was arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities," he said in a video address released by his press office.

•  Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Wednesday that an incident involving an Israel-bound Flydubai flight was an "attempted terrorist attack."

The Dubai-based carrier Flydubai said an altercation broke out in the flight deck of the Israel-bound plane, and that crew members managed to secure the plane and divert it safely to Saudi Arabia.

It "was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit," Katz alleged, according to the Ynet newspaper.

The airline, however, said the reasons and motives behind the altercation remain unknown and are subject to a formal investigation.