TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed Wednesday that he had secretly visited the United Arab Emirates in late March, a disclosure that appears to have strained relations between the two countries after months of deepening, wartime cooperation.

After Israeli media reported the visit, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a written statement confirming the trip, calling it a "historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE."

Netanyahu’s decision to disclose the visit to a country neighboring Iran in the midst of a regional war — sparked by his and US President Donald Trump's decision to jointly attack Iran on Feb. 28 — appeared aimed at diverting attention from his domestic political troubles and at scoring points ahead of a crucial election campaign this fall. Last week, former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, the latter also the current opposition leader, joined forces, putting pressure on Netanyahu ahead of the balloting scheduled for October 2026.

A poll published Tuesday by the public broadcaster, Kan, found that the newly formed Bennett-Lapid alliance, called Together, is the only political bloc currently positioned to seriously challenge Netanyahu’s Likud party. The survey recorded that if elections were held today, the Bennett-Lapid alliance would win 25 seats — just one fewer than Likud — while also being better positioned to assemble a governing coalition.