The visit came as the Israeli prime minister battles domestic unrest ahead of October’s Knesset elections.
Published on 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 came Monday evening, a day after the Israeli leader made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi. The visit took place a month before Israeli elections and amid controversy over reports that Ben Zayed, known as MBZ, warned Netanyahu that a major Hamas operation was likely just before the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
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“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 WAM reported on Monday. The meeting had already been reported in the Israeli press.
Palestinian fighters killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel during the attack and took around 250 prisoners. Israel’s response escalated into a genocidal war on Gaza, in which at least 73,669 Palestinians were killed.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on September 9 that the UAE president spoke on the phone with Netanyahu about 10 days before the attack, warning him of a threat by then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that he was planning a “huge surprise.”
Bin Zayed had previously alerted the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet, according to the Haaretz report.
Netanyahu’s office denied that the prime minister received any information before the attacks.
Netanyahu said the next day that he would sue Haaretz, calling its report “fabricated” and “politically motivated.”
Warming of relations
Relations between Israel and the UAE have warmed since the UAE signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between Israel and a number of Arab states.
U.S. 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 possible Iranian attacks.
Israel’s Channel 12 first reported on Netanyahu’s trip to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend. The Shin Bet said Monday it had filed a complaint with Israeli military censorship, saying the report endangered the prime minister and exposed the intelligence agency’s operational methods, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The allegation that the prime minister ignored a warning about the Hamas attack comes as Netanyahu tries to secure his position in upcoming Knesset elections, scheduled for October.
He is trailing in the polls, facing stiff competition from former military leader Gadi Eisenkot.
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