Netanyahu Denies UAE President Warned Him of Oct. 7 Attack, Blames Palestinian Official

The Likud party claimed on Wednesday that Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan, a Fatah official, was behind the publication of a report detailing a warning call from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the October 7th Hamas attack. Dahlan vehemently denied the accusation, calling it "false and mistaken claims" that expose Netanyahu's "embarrassment on the international stage." He stated he was never involved in Israel's internal political struggles.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu announced his intention to sue the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and its journalists for defamation over the report, which he called a "false fabrication." Netanyahu's representatives sent a pre-litigation letter to Haaretz demanding 2.5 million shekels in compensation. Haaretz stood by its reporting.

Netanyahu asserted that no conversation took place between him and the UAE president between early September and October 7th, and that thorough checks of his call logs by his office, the National Security Council, and the Military Secretariat found no record of such a call. The Haaretz report alleged that Netanyahu received a specific warning from the UAE president about an impending major move by Hamas leader Sinwar against Israel days before the October 7th massacre, but failed to update security officials.

Further reporting by Kan News on Wednesday indicated that bin Zayed had mentioned to several senior Israeli and American officials a conversation with Netanyahu prior to October 7th that included a general warning about potential Palestinian escalation. In a conversation with CIA Director Bill Burns months after the war began, bin Zayed reportedly told Burns he had given Netanyahu a general warning about the possibility of violent escalation. Sources suggest this was not a specific alert but a broader concern about the situation with Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.