Author, Muhannad Tutanji - Jerusalem
Published 28 September 2026
Last updated 1 minute ago
Reading time: 6 minutes
A quick visit by private plane by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for a meeting away from the media, with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, then a return to Israel without an official statement explaining what happened, before Netanyahu’s office confirmed the visit about twenty-four hours after its completion.
The meeting was not on an announced agenda. But after news of the visit leaked, Netanyahu's office not only confirmed its occurrence, but said that the meeting dealt with strengthening relations between Israel and the UAE and common regional issues.
The confirmation came in conjunction with the office’s denial of reports published by the Associated Press and Haaretz newspaper, which talked about another goal of the trip, which was an attempt to obtain an Emirati denial of a story saying that Bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of an imminent attack by Hamas, a week and a half before the attacks of October 7, 2023.
Thus, the question moved from whether the visit occurred to its reasons and the importance of its timing.
The visit comes weeks after the recent leaks related to the attacks of October 7, 2023, in addition to reports about the cooling of the relationship between Netanyahu and Bin Zayed and the attempt to repair it, the approaching Israeli elections, and Iran, which is returning to the heart of regional calculations.
October 7 phone call: did it happen or didn't it happen?
There is no doubt among the Israeli press and former politicians that the leaks related to the October 7 attacks and the statements about them were among the files present during the meeting between the two men, because of their repercussions on Netanyahu’s political future.
The story of the leaks began weeks ago when Haaretz newspaper published an investigation in which it said that Bin Zayed spoke by phone with Netanyahu before the attacks and warned him of the existence of information indicating that the leader of the Hamas movement in Gaza at the time, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major move that could lead to “bloodshed and shaking the region.”
The investigation required a quick response from Netanyahu, who categorically refuted the account of the contact taking place. His office said that the Prime Minister did not speak with Bin Zayed during the aforementioned period, and did not receive such a warning from him, and Netanyahu threatened to take legal measures against the newspaper, but the issue did not end there.
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Israeli Channel 12 later quoted three Emirati sources that it described as having direct knowledge of the issue, saying that the Emirati intelligence services had conveyed to the Israeli internal security service, the Shin Bet, information about the possibility of Hamas carrying out an act described as violent.
According to the channel's account, Bin Zayed's call to Netanyahu came to ensure that the information reached the Israeli Prime Minister.
In its first response to the case, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it does not comment on reports or speculation about talks between leaders of countries, but stressed that direct and open channels of communication exist between Emirati and Israeli government agencies, and that relevant intelligence information is exchanged when necessary.
Later, Israeli media quoted an Emirati official as saying that security issues are being discussed among the relevant agencies and not at the level of country leaders, rejecting the story that the warning was conveyed in a conversation between the two men.
Thus, the issue is no longer just a dispute over what Israel knew before October 7, but has also become an issue that affects the relationship between Netanyahu and the Emirati president.
Neria: The meeting begins with trying to repair the relationship
For retired Colonel Dr. Jack Neria, former political advisor to the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, this background is the starting point for understanding the visit.
Nerea said in an interview with the BBC that Netanyahu's first goal, from his point of view, was to try to improve the relationship with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed after the tension caused by the controversy over the call.
Neria believes that Netanyahu's public denial of the story has put the relationship in a sensitive position, especially in light of the information attributed to Emirati sources regarding the warning.
According to Neria, the meeting provides an opportunity to address the issue directly between the two men and try to overcome its repercussions.
This is an explanation that intersects with what the Associated Press reported from a person it said had direct knowledge of the meeting, who indicated, according to the agency, that Netanyahu asked Bin Zayed to deny the reports that spoke of his warning before October 7, which is what Haaretz also reported.
But Netanyahu's office denied this, and said that the Prime Minister did not ask the Emirati President to issue such a denial, stressing that the talks dealt with strengthening relations between the two countries and common regional issues.
Thus, the motives for the visit itself became the subject of two different narratives: an official Israeli narrative that places it within the framework of bilateral relations and regional files, and press reports that link it directly to the ongoing controversy regarding the alleged warning before October 7th.
A secret visit...but was its leaking a coincidence?
Here an additional side to the story appears. The visit was arranged away from the media, and according to Israeli reports, it was not supposed to be announced until after the delegation returned to Israel, and for the two parties to issue a coordinated statement regarding it.
But the news leaked before Netanyahu's return. About twenty-four hours later, official confirmation of the visit came out.
As for Nerea, publishing the news of the meeting in the media is unlikely to happen without the knowledge of Netanyahu or his entourage, and he believes that revealing it allows the latter to show that his relationship with the UAE and Bin Zayed still exists despite the recent dispute.
This is an analysis provided by Neria, and there is no published evidence to prove that Netanyahu ordered the leak of the visit. But the political timing is difficult to ignore.
The Israeli elections are scheduled for October 27, and Netanyahu is running in them in light of the continuing internal debate regarding political and security responsibility for the October 7 failure.
The image of the Prime Minister maintaining a direct relationship with one of the most prominent Arab leaders may, according to this analysis, carry domestic political value as well.
Iran in the room
However, the story of October 7 is not the only thing that Netanyahu carried with him to Abu Dhabi.
The Prime Minister's Office itself said after the visit that the talks dealt with common regional issues, while Israeli sources told Channel 13 News that the meeting mainly dealt with Iran and the escalating tension in the Middle East.
This is also one of the files that Neria referred to in his interview with the BBC.
According to his analysis, there is increasing talk about the possibility of a new escalation with Iran during the coming period, which makes coordination with the UAE important for Israel.
Neria believes that Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman, are seeking, to varying degrees, to maintain channels of dialogue with Tehran and avoid a new regional confrontation, which makes the relationship with the UAE of special importance to Israel in the Iranian file.
But the Emirati relationship with Iran is more complex than simply siding with Israel. Abu Dhabi itself maintains relations and channels of communication with Tehran, and has direct economic and security interests with it. It has also sought over the past years to reduce the level of tension in the Gulf.
Therefore, coordination between Israel and the UAE regarding Iran does not necessarily mean that their visions on how to deal with it are identical.
A relationship that has experienced tension before
This is not the first time that a dispute has emerged between the UAE and Israel regarding a meeting between Netanyahu and Bin Zayed.
Earlier this year, Netanyahu's office said he secretly met with the Emirati president in the city of Al Ain during the war with Iran.
At that time, the UAE publicly denied the Israeli story about the meeting, and stressed that its relations with Israel have existed within a declared framework since the Abrahamic Accords and are not based on secret arrangements.
Three files in one visit
The second is internal Israeli: elections are about a month away, while accusations and counter-accusations about responsibility and failures before and after the October 7 attacks are still strongly present in the Israeli political debate.
The third is strategic: Iran, the future confrontation with it, and the position of the Gulf states in any new escalation.
Among these three files, the importance of the visit may lie in the question that official statements have not yet answered:
Did Netanyahu go to Abu Dhabi to fix what happened in the past, or to coordinate what might happen next?
