A Sudanese man has been arrested after he attempted to murder an Israeli passenger on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The 54-year-old victim, named only as Arik by news site Ynet, was travelling from Chad to Ethiopia last week when the attacker tried to choke him before trying to convince other passengers to “lynch” his victim.
Arik told Ynet: “About 20 minutes before the plane started its descent, the passenger sitting behind me identified me as Israeli and Jewish.
“He came up behind my seat and started to choke me with a lot of force, and at first I couldn’t get my voice out and call for help.
“He hit me over the head with a metal tray and shouted ‘Allah akbar’ [God is great] and ‘I will slaughter the Jew.’ Only after a few seconds, just before I was about to lose consciousness, did I manage to call out and a flight attendant who saw what was happening summoned her colleagues.”
According to Arik, a Lebanese traveller who came to his rescue said that after being overpowered the attacker tried to convince the other passengers to “finish him off” in a lynching.
In a statement released in response to the incident Ethiopian Airlines said: “The attacker showed no signs of violence as he was boarding the flight.
“He attacked not only the Israeli but also other passengers and members of the flight crew. He is still in detention and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.
“We are sorry for the incident and will do everything we can in order to prevent further such attacks on our Israeli customers.”
Arik, who works for an Israeli company operating in Africa, was taken to a medical clinic in the airport before continuing on his planned route to Tel Aviv.
