Desk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this weekend. The purpose of the visit was to ask the UAE President to deny reports that he had warned the Israeli leader about a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Two people with knowledge of the Israeli leader's visit confirmed this on Monday. According to him, there was a meeting between Netanyahu and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday.
Let us tell you that the news of Netanyahu's visit was first given by Israel's Channel 12 TV station. A person familiar with the matter said the main topic of conversation was a report published in the Israeli newspaper 'Haaretz' earlier this month. The report said the Emirati leader had warned Netanyahu about the Hamas attack, which was scheduled to take place on October 7, 2023, and trigger the war. Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohammed to deny the report, according to a person claiming to have direct knowledge of the meeting.
Netanyahu's office had already denied 'Haaretz' report. The person and a regional official with knowledge of the meeting spoke about the secret visit on condition of anonymity. The UAE Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on reports about the meeting. But it said it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares “all relevant intelligence.” There was no immediate comment on this from Netanyahu's office.