Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, a senior Israeli official told news agency Reuters, as the two countries navigate a sensitive regional security environment.However, neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE foreign ministry immediately issued a public statement on the meeting.The visit comes amid renewed attention in Israel to claims that the UAE leader had warned Netanyahu shortly before Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that the group was preparing a major operation.
Dispute over reported warning
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported earlier this month that Sheikh Mohammed had raised the warning with Netanyahu around a week and a half before the Hamas attack. The report said the information was not subsequently passed to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military.Netanyahu has rejected the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper. The issue has become politically sensitive as Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection campaign, with opposition figures accusing him of responsibility for security failures before the October 7 attack.The UAE has not commented directly on the Haaretz report. It has previously said that the two countries have maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020.A UAE source previously told Reuters that security issues are discussed with other countries through the “relevant entities”, rather than “at the level of national leaders.”
UAE-Israel ties under scrutiny
Earlier this year, the UAE denied that Sheikh Mohammed had met Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister’s office said in May that Netanyahu had “secretly visited” the Gulf country. A person familiar with the meeting later said the two leaders had met in Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi near the border with Oman, on March 26.The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020, making the Emirates one of the first Arab states to formally establish ties with Israel.Since coming under attack during the Iran war, the UAE has sought to strengthen its relationships with both Washington and Jerusalem. Its ties with Israel provide Abu Dhabi with a channel for regional engagement as well as closer access to the United States.