Israel's domestic security service filed a complaint against a television channel that reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UAE. Channel 12 and other Israeli media outlets reported that Netanyahu visited the UAE to meet with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The Shin Bet filed a complaint with the Chief Military Censor, demanding that Channel 12 face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law following a severe censorship violation. Israel and the UAE formally established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the US-negotiated Abraham Accords.
Benjamin Netanyahu asked UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed during a secret meeting on Sunday to deny a report that he had warned Netanyahu of an imminent Hamas attack before 7 October 2023. Haaretz reported that Netanyahu asked bin Zayed to deny details surrounding their phone conversation and events before 7 October that “could embarrass him.”
Two people briefed on the trip confirmed that Netanyahu held an hour-long meeting with bin Zayed. UAE’s state news agency WAM reported that bin Zayed received Netanyahu, who visited the UAE on Sunday.
The newspaper stated that the Israeli premier also asked the Emirati president for what one source described as “moral support.” Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that Netanyahu travelled on a private plane owned by an unnamed Israeli businessman.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN noted that the plane left Ben Gurion Airport in the afternoon and landed in Abu Dhabi at 3:10 pm (1110GMT). The visit followed Haaretz’s report that Sheikh Mohamed warned Netanyahu a week and a half before 7 October 2023 that Hamas planned a major operation against Israel.
Haaretz also reported that this warning did not reach Israeli intelligence agencies or the military. The UAE declined to comment on the Haaretz report but confirmed that it and Israel maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020.
A source familiar with the meeting stated that Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed met in Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi along the country's border with Oman, on 26 March.
