Netanyahu met with UAE president during secret Abu Dhabi visit: Reports

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Israeli media reported Sunday.

The UAE did not immediately comment on the claim.

Israel’s Channel 12 said Netanyahu traveled to the Emirati capital on a private plane and met with Sheikh Mohamed and spent the day there.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Netanyahu’s office had not announced the visit, which it reported came amid controversy over a series of media disclosures regarding intelligence warnings he allegedly received ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.

On Friday, the New York Times reported that Netanyahu had received a confidential warning from the UAE president before the Hamas attack but had not passed it on to Israel’s security chiefs.

KAN reported that Netanyahu traveled on a private plane owned by an unnamed Israeli businessman and used by senior Israeli figures for international trips.

It departed Ben Gurion Airport in the afternoon and landed in Abu Dhabi at 3.10 pm (1110GMT), the broadcaster said. It took off for Israel at 7.10 pm (1510GMT), four hours later, and landed shortly after 10 pm (1900GMT).

KAN said Netanyahu had also used the aircraft for a trip to Abu Dhabi during the war with Iran.

The Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper quoted an unnamed UAE official source as saying that the country discusses security matters with other states through the relevant agencies, “not at the level of national leaders.”

Netanyahu has led Israel’s current government since late 2022. In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s arrests over war crimes in Gaza.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured more than 175,000, most of them women and children, while damaging 90% of the territory’s infrastructure.