Netanyahu Abu Dhabi Visit Revives Debate Over Pre-October 7 Warning

Netanyahu – The Netanyahu Abu Dhabi visit took place on Sunday, according to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the unannounced trip.

Several Israeli news outlets backed the report. Channel 12, KAN, Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post all said he made a one-day visit to the UAE.

Channel 12 said Netanyahu flew on a private plane and spent the whole day in Abu Dhabi.

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE foreign ministry commented right away.

The timing of the trip is sensitive. A few weeks ago, Haaretz reported that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu about a big Hamas operation. The paper said this happened about ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack.

Haaretz also reported that the warning was never passed on to Israeli intelligence agencies or the army. Netanyahu denies the story and has threatened legal action against the newspaper.

Opposition leaders in Israel blame Netanyahu for the security failures that came before the attack. The debate has grown louder since the report appeared.

The UAE has not spoken directly about the reported warning. It has said before that its ties with Israel include “open and direct lines of communication”.

A UAE source also told Reuters that Abu Dhabi talks about security with other countries through the relevant bodies. The source said these talks do not happen at the level of national leaders.

This is not the first time a secret trip has made headlines. In May, Netanyahu’s office said he had secretly visited the UAE and met its president.

Abu Dhabi later denied that Sheikh Mohamed had met Netanyahu during the Iran war.

However, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the two leaders did meet in Al Ain on March 26. Al Ain is an oasis city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, close to the border with Oman.

Israel and the UAE set up diplomatic ties in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. The UAE became one of the first Arab states to formally normalise relations with Israel.

The bond has become more important during the conflict with Iran. Since it came under attack in the Iran war, the UAE has moved closer to both the United States and Israel.

Reuters said the relationship gives Abu Dhabi a channel to Washington. It also gives the UAE more room to shape events in the region.

For now, the picture is complicated. Close ties, rising tension and a fresh row over what Netanyahu knew before October 7 are all in play.

It is still unclear what the two leaders discussed. Both sides have yet to comment, so more details may come out in the days ahead.