Netanyahu threatens legal action over Haaretz report on alleged UAE warning
The Israeli prime minister denies that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned him about Hamas plans before the 7 October 2023 attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will sue Haaretz and two journalists over a report alleging that United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed warned him about Hamas plans 10 days before the 7 October 2023 attack.
Netanyahu said his lawyers had been instructed to sue Haaretz and the report’s authors, Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yaval. He described the report as fabricated, false and politically motivated.
Haaretz reported that bin Zayed had passed warnings, initially linked to information from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency before raising them directly with Netanyahu. The report said the warning concerned preparations for a major Hamas attack.
Netanyahu denied speaking with bin Zayed and said reviews by the National Security Council and his military secretary found no record of the alleged call. The reported warning, the phone conversation and the handling of the intelligence have not been independently verified in the supplied material.
The UAE declined to comment, saying its government does not respond to media reports or speculation about conversations between leaders. Netanyahu also alleged that Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan was behind the report, a claim rejected by Dahlan’s representatives.
The dispute comes as Netanyahu faces a challenge from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot ahead of reported October Knesset elections. The 7 October attack killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel and resulted in about 251 people being taken captive, according to the source.
