Naftali Bennett Contradicts Himself on UAE Warning to Netanyahu

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the "Bayit Yehudi" party, provided conflicting statements within an hour regarding a report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warning from the UAE president prior to the October 7th Hamas attack. Initially, in an interview with Galatz radio, Bennett stated he was unaware of the report published by the newspaper "Haaretz." However, in a subsequent interview with 103FM radio just one hour later, Bennett asserted with certainty that the report was true, claiming, "This fact is correct. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed from the Emirates warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was planning an operation."

The "Haaretz" report, based on research for a new book by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, alleges that in late September 2023, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu and warned him that Sinwar was preparing for a "significant event." According to the report, Netanyahu believed the threat was directed at the West Bank and did not relay the warning to security officials.

The Prime Minister's Office vehemently denied the report, stating, "An absolute lie! Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak with the President of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him." Likud MK Moshe Saada also questioned the report's credibility, calling it a "big fake" and suggesting it was timed to influence upcoming elections. He pointed out the lack of a UAE response to "Haaretz" and questioned why other world leaders, like the US President, were not informed if such a warning was issued.