Police Say Man Hoped to Ram Plane Into Building
An Israeli Arab wrestled to the floor outside the cockpit of an El Al flight told investigators that he hoped to crash the jet into a building in Tel Aviv in imitation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Turkish police said.
Tawfiq Fukra, 23, told police in Istanbul, where the plane landed Sunday, that he planned to use a penknife to hijack the jet and force it to crash into a building to protest Israel’s actions against Palestinians, according to a statement by the Istanbul police’s anti-terror unit.
Fukra said he was a student and had no links “to any organization,” police said.
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