Passengers received threatening messages on Israel-Barcelona flight

Several passengers received threatening messages in Arabic through AirDrop on their iPhones on a flight from Barcelona to Tel Aviv that was supposed to leave Tuesday night, leading to deplaning all passengers and postponing take-off.

Spain's budget airline Vueling has not released a statement on the incident.

According to a photo shared by passenger Shaked Boker, a message appeared on his phone that stated in English and Arabic: "Do Not Grieve: Indeed Allah Is With Us." Boker also provided a video clip of the plane being evacuated. 

"They took all of us off the plane, including our luggage and rechecked everything," another passenger on the flight told media. "At the moment, there is no expected take-off."

Israel-Barcelona ties

In February, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau announced that the city is no longer twinned with Tel Aviv, citing claims that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” as well as “flagrant and systematic violation of human rights.” 

Barcelona and Tel Aviv entered the relationship in 1998 — when both cities jointly signed a “twin city” agreement with Gaza City. Colau’s decision comes less than a year after Barcelona launched two linked campaigns — “Shalom Barcelona” and “Barcelona Connects Israel” to appeal to Jewish and Israeli tourists interested in exploring their heritage. Last summer, the city opened up the world’s first Michelin-starred kosher restaurant.

JTA and Zvika Klein contributed to this report