Netanyahu visits the UAE and discusses the Iranian issue with Mohammed bin Zayed before the Israeli elections

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Monday that President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the UAE yesterday, Sunday.

The agency explained that during their meeting, the two sides discussed "bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and ways to strengthen and develop them."

An Israeli source familiar with the visit explained to CNN on Sunday that Netanyahu visited the UAE and discussed with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed “the Iran issue, which dominated the agenda.”

This rare visit comes a month before the Israeli elections scheduled for next October 27, and against the backdrop of an escalating political controversy in Israel over reports published by Haaretz and the New York Times, claiming that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of a major Hamas operation, days before the attack on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu's office has repeatedly denied receiving any warning, calling the reports "concocted lies" aimed at damaging him electorally. However, his opponents exploited these allegations to make the issue of accountability for failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack a central issue in the election campaign.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier this month that it "does not comment on media reports or speculation related to talks between government leaders."

The Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, later issued a statement published on the Prime Minister’s account on the X platform, alleging the presence of “blatant foreign interference” in the Israeli elections on the part of Palestinian politician Muhammad Dahlan. The party did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

At the same time, Netanyahu's opponents took advantage of this warning to renew their attacks on his handling of the events that preceded October 7.