United Arab Emirates Confirm Israeli Prime Minister’s Secret Visit to Abu Dhabi

The United Arab Emirates have confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a visit to the country over the weekend.

The late Monday confirmation came a day after the Israeli leader made the secret trip to the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi. The visit came a month before Israeli elections and amid controversy over reports claiming that Bin Zayed, known as MBZ, had warned Netanyahu that a major Hamas operation was possible shortly before the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

“During the meeting, both sides discussed bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel and ways to strengthen and develop them,” the Emirates’ official news agency, WAM, reported on Monday.

Palestinian fighters killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel during the attack and took around 250 others hostage. Israel’s response developed into a genocidal war in Gaza, in which at least 73,669 Palestinians have been killed.

Local media reported on September 9 that the United Arab Emirates’ president spoke on the phone with Netanyahu about 10 days before the attack, warning him of a threat made by the then Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, that he was preparing a “big surprise.”

Bin Zayed had previously notified Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, according to the Haaretz report.

Netanyahu’s office has denied that the prime minister received information ahead of the attacks.

Netanyahu said the next day that he would sue Haaretz, calling its report “fabricated” and “politically motivated.”