Netanyahu Sues Haaretz Over Report on UAE Call, Denies Pre-Oct. 7 Warning

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that he has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper Haaretz, journalist Shlomi Eldar, and other parties. The legal action stems from what the office described as a "false narrative" concerning a purported phone call between Netanyahu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed prior to the October 7th Hamas attacks.

Netanyahu's office stated that, contrary to the reports, no call took place between the two leaders from the beginning of September until October 7th. They asserted that a review of Netanyahu's call logs during that period revealed no record of such a conversation. The office further explained that political communications between Netanyahu and the UAE president are conducted through a UAE envoy who uses a special encrypted device and that all such communications are documented.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister's office claimed that security logs showed no UAE envoy entered the Prime Minister's office during the relevant period, emphasizing that entry requires security clearance. The office also accused Eldar of publishing inaccurate information regarding an alleged Egyptian warning to Netanyahu about a potential attack, stating these claims were debunked early in the war.

In defense of Netanyahu, the office assigned responsibility for the security failures preceding October 7th to former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. They alleged that both were aware of indicators hours before the events and that the attacks could have been prevented with proactive measures and timely notification to the Prime Minister.