Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Meets UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, Official Says

On September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Abu Dhabi and held talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior Israeli official confirmed to Reuters.

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE’s foreign ministry responded immediately.

The visit follows a recent Haaretz report revealing that Sheikh Mohamed warned Netanyahu about a week and a half before the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault, alleging the caution was not relayed to Israeli intelligence or the military.

Netanyahu has denied the allegations, warning legal action against the newspaper, while simultaneously navigating a challenging reelection bid amid opposition claims that he bears responsibility for security lapses preceding Hamas’s October 7 attack.

The UAE has refrained from commenting on the Haaretz story, though it has emphasized that diplomatic ties with Israel remain active, noting that security discussions are conducted through “relevant entities” rather than at the level of national leaders, according to a UAE source cited by Reuters.

In May, the Israeli premier’s office disclosed a “secret” visit to the UAE, prompting the UAE to deny that President Sheikh Mohamed had met with Netanyahu at that time.

A source privy to the encounter said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed conferred in Al‑Ain, an oasis city near Abu Dhabi’s border with Oman, on March 26.

Amid heightened tensions stemming from the Iran conflict, the UAE has reinforced its alliances with the United States and Israel, formalized through the 2020 Abraham Accords. The Israeli partnership provides the UAE with strategic leverage and a distinct conduit to Washington.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Bill Berkrot)

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