The visit took place as the Israeli prime minister battles internal turmoil ahead of October’s Knesset elections. Posted on September 28, 2026 September 28, 2026 The United Arab Emirates has confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a visit to the country over the weekend. The confirmation late on Monday came a day after the Israeli leader made the secret trip to the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. The visit came a month before the Israeli elections and amid controversy over reports alleging that Bin Zayed, known as MBZ, had warned Netanyahu that a major Hamas operation was likely to take place just before the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. “During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and ways to strengthen and develop them,” the official Emirates News Agency reported on Monday. WAM. Israeli media earlier reported on the meeting. Palestinian fighters killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel during the attack and took about 250 captive. Israel’s response escalated into a genocidal war in Gaza, in which at least 73,669 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on September 9 that the president of the United Arab Emirates spoke to Netanyahu by phone about 10 days before the attack, warning him of a threat made by then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that he was preparing a “big surprise.” Bin Zayed had previously alerted Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, Haaretz reports. he said. Netanyahu’s office has denied that the prime minister received information before the attacks. Netanyahu said the next day that he would sue Haaretz, calling its report “fabricated” and “politically motivated.” Relations between Israel and the UAE have intensified since the UAE signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized ties between Israel and several Arab states. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in May that Israel had deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries and personnel to the United Arab Emirates to help defend against potential Iranian attacks. Israel’s Channel 12 first reported on Netanyahu’s trip to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend. The Shin Bet said on Monday it had filed a complaint with Israel’s military censor, saying the report endangered the prime minister and exposed the intelligence agency’s operational methods, the Associated Press news agency reported. The accusation that the prime minister ignored a warning about the Hamas attack comes as Netanyahu is trying to secure his position in the upcoming Knesset elections, scheduled for October. He has been lagging in the polls, facing a fierce challenge from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
