Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly travelled to Abu Dhabi on Monday and met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to Reuters and Israel’s Channel 12.
According to the reports, Netanyahu flew on a private plane shortly after noon, landed in Abu Dhabi at 3:10 p.m. and remained in the UAE for about four hours. Netanyahu’s office, the UAE embassy in Israel and the Emirati foreign ministry did not immediately comment.
The visit comes amid controversy over a Haaretz report that Sheikh Mohammed warned Netanyahu about a week and a half before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that the group was preparing a major operation. The report said the information was not passed to Israeli intelligence or the military.
Netanyahu has denied the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper. Opposition leaders have accused him of responsibility for security failures preceding the attack as he faces a difficult reelection campaign.
The UAE has not commented on the report but says the two countries maintain “open and direct lines of communication” established under the 2020 Abraham Accords. Abu Dhabi has previously said security issues are handled through “relevant entities”, not national leaders.
Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed reportedly met secretly in Al-Ain on March 26. The UAE had denied the meeting after Netanyahu disclosed it in May, reportedly triggering diplomatic tensions. Channel 12 said the disclosure was linked to domestic political concerns involving rival Naftali Bennett.
The UAE has strengthened ties with Israel and the US since the Iran war, with its relationship with Israel providing a channel for regional influence and communication with Washington.
