A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE foreign ministry immediately commented on the reported meeting.
Haaretz reported this month that Sheikh Mohammed warned Netanyahu a week and a half before the October 7, 2023, attack that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel, and that the warning was not passed to Israeli intelligence or the military. Netanyahu denied the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper. The UAE declined to comment on it; opposition leaders have accused Netanyahu of responsibility for security failures before the attack as he faces a tough reelection campaign.
In May, Netanyahu’s office said he had secretly visited the UAE and met Sheikh Mohammed; the UAE denied that its president had met him. A source familiar with the meeting told Reuters it took place on March 26 in Al-Ain. The UAE has said it and Israel have maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020; a UAE source previously said security matters were discussed through relevant entities, not at the level of national leaders.
