Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Israeli official told Reuters, in an unannounced trip that comes amid heightened regional tensions and renewed scrutiny of relations between the two countries.
Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12 and KAN, as well as Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post, also reported that Netanyahu made a one-day visit to the UAE. Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE Foreign Ministry immediately issued a public comment on the reported meeting.
Reported warning resurfaces
The meeting comes amid renewed attention to reports that Sheikh Mohamed warned Netanyahu before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that the group was preparing a major operation against Israel.
According to a report by Haaretz, the warning was delivered around a week and a half before the attack and was not passed on to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military. The report was based on a book by Haaretz journalists.
Netanyahu has denied the allegation, describing it as false, and has threatened legal action against Haaretz. The report has nevertheless renewed debate in Israel over warnings received before the October 7 attack and the response of the country’s leadership.
The UAE has not directly confirmed the reported warning. Abu Dhabi has previously described its relationship with Israel as involving open and direct lines of communication.
Earlier reports of secret Netanyahu-Mohamed meeting
The latest reported meeting also follows earlier uncertainty over private contacts between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed.
In May, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli prime minister had secretly visited the UAE and met its president. The UAE subsequently denied that Sheikh Mohamed had met Netanyahu during the visit.
UAE warned Netanyahu of Hamas attack before Oct 7, NYT reports
However, a source familiar with the matter later told Reuters that the two leaders had met in Al Ain on March 26. The oasis city is located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi near the border with Oman.
The latest visit was similarly not publicly announced in advance.
Israel-UAE ties remain significant
Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, making the Emirates one of the first Arab countries to formally normalise relations with Israel.
The relationship has gained additional significance amid wider regional tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Against that backdrop, Netanyahu’s reported meeting with Sheikh Mohamed comes as Israel faces renewed domestic debate over the intelligence and security warnings that preceded the October 7, 2023 attack.
The reported meeting itself has not been publicly detailed by either government, leaving its agenda unclear.
