A mid-air attack on an Israel-bound flight is being treated as a terror plot, but the timing is raising doubts — bad news for public trust in official accounts.

• A co-pilot stabbed the pilot on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, and passengers subdued him before the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
• Netanyahu had warned the day before that Israel's enemies would strike ahead of Israeli elections, and he held a press conference praising the passengers within hours.
• Iranian media had reported, before the incident, that Israel was planning an aviation attack to be blamed on Iran.
• Netanyahu faces criminal charges and would likely lose an election, which gives him a reason to want a security crisis.
• Iran gains nothing from attacking a civilian plane and has held back from escalation even under heavy pressure, so the accusation does not fit its behavior.
• In Britain, five men arrested near RAF Fairford were released on bail, and no explosives or drones were found, yet officials already point to Iran.

Outlook: Saudi custody of the suspect may produce independent answers, but the bigger risk is that repeated unproven claims leave people unwilling to believe a real attack when one happens.