On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to ask Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to deny a Sept. 8 report that Abu Dhabi had warned the Israeli leader about a looming Hamas threat ahead of the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Al-Monitor has confirmed. 

Sources who spoke to Al-Monitor's Ben Caspit confirmed the visit and said it was expected to take place earlier this month but that Abu Dhabi was reluctant to accept the Israeli premier. The visit comes almost a month before the Israeli elections, in which Netanyahu's Likud party is trailing against former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and his centrist Yashar party.

Channel 12 first reported the news on Sunday that Netanyahu had traveled earlier that day to Abu Dhabi, without giving the reason for the trip. The flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 reported Sunday that a private jet previously used by Netanyahu had been taken for a flight from Israel to the Emirates, flying over Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Asked by Al-Monitor, Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the report. The UAE Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Al-Monitor's request for comment. 

The Associated Press reported on Monday that Netanyahu held an hour-long discussion with Sheikh Mohammed. Sources told Al-Monitor that Netanyahu asked the Emirati leader to deny the Sept. 8 Haaretz report that Emirati officials sent a message to Israel prior to the Oct. 7 attacks, with information about a looming Hamas threat. 

Citing unnamed Emirati sources, Haaretz reported Monday that the two leaders met at the Abu Dhabi airport. The sources claimed that Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohammed for “moral support” following reports suggesting that he had ignored warnings of a potential Hamas attack.

The Atlantic reported on Friday that former Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel had traveled to Israel to deliver a similar warning before the attacks.

Warnings ahead of Oct. 7

Haaretz' Shlomi Eldar reported on Sept. 8 that Sheikh Mohammed had spoken with Netanyahu by phone about 10 days before Oct. 7. During the 45-minute call, the Emirati president reportedly warned Netanyahu that Hamas’ Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major move against Israel that could destabilize the region.

Sinwar had reportedly conveyed the message to Sheikh Mohammed through a Palestinian mediator in mid-September 2023, warning of an upcoming “earthquake.” According to Eldar’s sources, Netanyahu did not take the warning seriously and did not share the information with Israeli security agencies.

Citing two sources, including a person who spoke directly with Sheikh Mohammed, the New York Times confirmed Friday that the Emirati leader had warned Netanyahu of a “major attack” by Hamas shortly before Oct. 7, 2023.

Netanyahu’s office denied that such a conversation had taken place or that the Israeli premier had been warned by any foreign source about a possible imminent Hamas attack. The UAE Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 8 that Abu Dhabi does not comment on "speculation" regarding conversations between leaders, adding that Israel and the UAE "have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago." 

Still, the articles from Eldar and the New York Times joined other reports about Israel having received warnings from Egypt concerning Hamas’ preparations for a large-scale assault.

On Oct. 9, 2023, Ynet reported that Kamel had conveyed a message to Netanyahu’s office that Hamas was preparing an unusual operation against Israel. Kamel was reportedly astonished by Israel's lack of reaction to the information and by its apparent belief that Hamas posed no real threat to the Jewish state. A Sunday report by the Wall Street Journal said that Kamel had actually called Netanyahu directly to warn him.

Iran file

CNN reported on Monday that discussions on Iran "dominated the agenda" of the meeting between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed. The UAE and Israel have increased security cooperation this year amid the war with Iran, and the Gulf state has been heavily targeted in the conflict.  

Axios reported in April that, at the start of the war with Iran, Israel sent an Iron Dome system to the United Arab Emirates along with personnel to operate it. In May, Netanyahu’s office announced that he had secretly visited the UAE and met with Sheikh Mohammed during the war with Iran, without specifying the date. The Emirati Foreign Ministry denied that the visit had taken place.