The co-pilot is currently being questioned in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing. However UAE officials say they have jurisdiction over the incident because the aircraft on which the attack took place is registered there and flies under its flag.

Netanyahu told Fox that once the attacker had been subdued and tied up by passengers and crew, he was “calling out to the aircrew ‘kill me, kill me’, so it’s clear he was suicidal that’s not a question”.

“And with all the passengers in there, and if you couple that with what I just told you about the Islamist tendencies, that radicalisation that were found in his background, I think … that’ll give us a pretty good clue but again I don’t make final conclusions yet but that’s the indications we have now.”

The prime minister was also asked earlier on the same network whether there was an indication if Iran was involved, he replied: “It’s too early to say”.