New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- Days after Indian pilot Smit Machchhar averted what is now being called a "terrorist attack" after his co-pilot, an Omani national, struck him with an axe on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight with Israelis on board, in an alleged bid to crash the plane, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday (local time) invited him, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to light a flame on Israeli Independence Day.

Netanyahu, who spoke with Machchhar, who is currently in a UAE hospital undergoing treatment, said, "It's our highest honour that we give on our Independence Day. It's usually reserved for Israeli citizens, but I think here in this case, all the citizens of Israel will embrace you. They do now, and they will then ...