Netanyahu Accuses Palestinian Official of Fabricating Story on UAE Leader's Warning

The Likud party claimed on Wednesday that Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan, associated with Fatah, is behind the publication of a report detailing a warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 7th. Dahlan vehemently denied the accusation, calling the claims "false and mistaken" and stating they reveal "the extent of Netanyahu's embarrassment on the international stage." He added that he has "never been a party to internal struggles within Israel."

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu announced he had instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper Haaretz and its journalists Shlomi Eldar, Ruth Yuval, and Uri Misgav, for publishing the investigative report. Netanyahu's representatives sent a pre-litigation letter to the newspaper demanding 2.5 million shekels in compensation, asserting the report fabricated a false story about the Prime Minister.

Haaretz stood by its reporting, stating, "We stand behind the publication." Netanyahu countered that contrary to the report, "from the beginning of September until October 7th, no conversation took place between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates." He further stated that his office, the National Security Council, and the Military Secretariat had "diligently checked the Prime Minister's call logs during these days and found no trace of it."