Two sources confirmed Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met during the day with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed , Israeli Channel 12 reported. According to the sources, Netanyahu departed Sunday morning and spent the day in the United Arab Emirates.
The two sources said Netanyahu traveled to Abu Dhabi on a private jet and met with bin Zayed. The Prime Minister's Office declined to provide details about Netanyahu's meetings in the UAE.
Controversy over reported UAE warning
The visit comes amid controversy over reports that Netanyahu received a warning from the UAE ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
Two and a half weeks after a Haaretz investigation, The New York Times also reported that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu in late September 2023 that Hamas was considering launching a major attack, according to two sources who spoke with the newspaper.
According to the investigation, Netanyahu made no mention of the warning at a meeting he convened with Israel's security chiefs just days later, on Oct. 1, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.
One of the sources said he had spoken with bin Zayed himself, while the second said he had been briefed by someone who took part in the conversation between the two leaders. According to the sources, bin Zayed told Netanyahu that information he had received indicated that Hamas was planning an attack.
One source said the information did not specify whether Hamas was planning rocket fire at Israel or a ground invasion. The newspaper said it was unclear what the original source of bin Zayed's intelligence was, or whether the two leaders discussed matters other than the warning during their conversation.
Five former senior Israeli officials said the warning was not passed on to Israel's security chiefs and that the conversation is not mentioned in any of the internal investigations by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli intelligence agencies in which they were involved.
