UAE President Warned Netanyahu of Escalation Before Oct. 7, Report Says

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan informed several senior Israeli and American officials about a conversation he had with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to the October 7th Hamas attacks, during which he warned of a potential escalation with the Palestinians. This was reported by Kan News on Wednesday.

According to Kan News, Al Nahyan told CIA Director Bill Burns in a meeting months after the war began that he had issued a general warning to Netanyahu about the possibility of violent unrest. The exact timing of the conversation between Al Nahyan and Netanyahu is unclear, and the UAE president described it as a general statement, not a specific warning, according to sources. The concern reportedly related to the broader situation with the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu announced that he had instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper Haaretz and its journalists Shlomi Eldar, Ruth Yuval, and Uri Misgav. The lawsuit stems from a report alleging that Netanyahu received a warning call from the UAE president before October 7th. Netanyahu stated, "They fabricated a false story against the Prime Minister that never happened." His representatives sent a pre-litigation letter to Haaretz demanding 2.5 million shekels in compensation.

Haaretz responded, "We stand behind our publication." Netanyahu countered, "Contrary to what is claimed, from the beginning of September until October 7th, no conversation took place between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister's office, the National Security Council, and the Military Secretariat meticulously checked the Prime Minister's call logs during this period and found no record of it."