Netanyahu Visits Abu Dhabi, Meets UAE President Amid October 7 Warning Row
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in an unannounced Abu Dhabi visit amid regional tensions and renewed scrutiny over a reported warning before the October 7, 2023 attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to a senior Israeli official cited by Reuters. The unannounced visit took place amid heightened regional tensions and renewed scrutiny of Israel-UAE communications.
Neither Netanyahu's office nor the UAE Foreign Ministry immediately issued a public statement about the meeting. The visit comes shortly after renewed attention to a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz concerning an alleged warning from Sheikh Mohammed before Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack.
According to the report, Sheikh Mohammed had warned Netanyahu around a week and a half before the attack that Hamas was preparing a major operation against Israel. The report said the information was not passed on to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military. Netanyahu has denied the allegation and threatened legal action against Haaretz.
The issue has also become politically significant in Israel as Netanyahu faces an election campaign. Opposition leaders have accused him of responsibility for security failures preceding the October 7 attack, while Netanyahu has rejected the reported account.
The UAE has not directly commented on the allegation. Abu Dhabi has previously said that Israel and the UAE have maintained open and direct communication channels since establishing diplomatic relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords.
The two leaders have reportedly met privately before. A source familiar with an earlier meeting said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed met in Al-Ain on March 26, after the UAE had disputed an earlier claim that the two had met.
The latest Abu Dhabi meeting comes as the UAE continues to maintain relationships with both the United States and Israel amid the wider West Asia security situation.
