Etihad Airways, the Israeli army and authorities in Australia, Lebanon and Israel did their part quietly and without hesitation when preventing an ISIS terror attack on an Etihad Airways jet about to take off in Sydney. Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, a known enemy to Israel.
It was global cooperation between enemies and the winner are passengers and crew on an Emirates Aircraft who can thank Israel authorities to be living today. It was a sign of global peace in a troubled world against terror, against Islamic State (IS)
Yesterday the Israeli military has lifted the embargo on the report that its elite intelligence Unit 8200, in cooperation with Australia, prevented an ISIS plot to blow up an Etihad Airways flight last July.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not a friend to the United Arab Emirates but has claimed intelligence provided by his country foiled an alleged plot by the Islamic State group to blow up a plane from Sydney using a device smuggled inside a meat mincer.
“The Israeli intelligence services thwarted the downing of an Australian plane, an unimaginable slaughter,” the Israeli leader told an American Jewish conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Etihad is a flag-carrier and second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi. According to a statement issued by the army, the Israeli intelligence unit’s information led to the thwarting of the planned attack shortly before it was to have taken place.
Apparently, one of the terrorists duped his own brother into carrying a bomb disguised as a meat mincer that was built by an ISIS bomb-maker.
The unwitting bomber was to fly on an Etihad flight from Sydney, Australia, the explosives having been shipped from Turkey but intercepted by airport security. Officials stressed that the plot never proceeded to the point where passengers or crew were threatened. Israeli officials are using the case to affirm its cooperation with Western nations in fighting ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
Unit 8200 is responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption. The Israeli army said one of its intelligence units, named 8200, provided the information in 2017 leading to the arrest of Isis militants who were working “toward the execution of the attack”.
Days after the arrests, Lebanon’s interior minister said Beirut had monitored the brothers for more than a year and had worked with Australian authorities to disrupt the alleged attack.
Etihad earlier this week confirmed it was working with authorities in Australia on their investigation.
