By The Associated Press

Australian authorities launched a probe into an Omani FlyDubai co-pilot's time in Australia after he was detained over an alleged attempt to seize an Israel-bound aircraft and crash it.

Meanwhile, Israel bars the U.K. Green Party's leader from entering the country, and ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey hold a trilateral defense pact meeting in Riyadh.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Full coverage is available here.

Australia and New Zealand probe FlyDubai co-pilot's time there

Australian security agencies are investigating the Omani pilot's time in Australia around a decade ago, Australian Federal Police said.

The FlyDubai pilot is in custody in the United Arab Emirates after he allegedly attempted to take control of the Israel-bound plane.

A police statement on Monday said a joint counterterrorism team, including federal and state police and Australia's domestic intelligence agency,  is investigating the man's links to Australia. 

New Zealand's police agency also said the co-pilot had spent time in New Zealand and that the authorities would investigate.

News media have reported he was granted an Australian student visa in 2014 and arrived in Australia to start a university course in 2015. He left Australia in 2017, and his visa was canceled in 2019 after authorities confirmed he was no longer enrolled in the course, media reported.

Israel bans head of UK Green Party after it votes to define Zionism as racism

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said late Sunday he was declaring Britain's Green Party leader Zack Polanski barred from entering Israel and described the Party's resolution as  a clear antisemitic text. 

The Green Party passed the motion earlier Sunday at its annual conference in Brighton, declaring itself  anti-Zionist.  The resolution said Zionism will be  treated as any other form of racism  and that the party supported a  single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. 

The Greens hold only 5 seats in the 650-member Parliament. Polanski, who was campai

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