An official meeting between the President of the UAE and the Prime Minister of Israel after the normalization agreement

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) confirmed today, Monday (September 28, 2026), that the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed bilateral relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the latter’s visit to the Gulf country yesterday, Sunday.

This is the first meeting officially confirmed by the two sides since the signing of the normalization agreement between the two countries in 2020.

The official UAE agency said in a brief news: “His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, received Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, who visited the UAE yesterday, Sunday” (September 27, 2026). She added that the two sides discussed "bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and ways to strengthen and develop them."

This was the first official confirmation from the UAE of Netanyahu's visit.

Shortly after the UAE confirmed that its president met with Netanyahu on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office also confirmed that he visited the UAE.

The office said in a statement published on the X platform: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife visited the United Arab Emirates yesterday at the invitation of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. The visit focused on strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges.”

Netanyahu's office continued: "The prime minister was accompanied by the head of the National Security Council, the head of the Mossad, the military secretary, and the foreign policy advisor."

A complaint against a channel that revealed the confidentiality of the visit

Earlier today, Netanyahu’s office announced that the Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) had filed a complaint against a television channel that reported that Netanyahu had visited the United Arab Emirates. This was the first government acknowledgment of the visit, although the destination was not disclosed in the statement.

A statement issued by Netanyahu's office - which supervises the security apparatus - said, "This evening, the Shin Bet filed a complaint with the chief military sergeant, demanding that Channel 12 be sued and that the law be applied to the utmost degree, following a flagrant violation of the censorship rules."

The Mossad - which also operates under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Office - also issued a statement containing a similar condemnation, according to the statement.

Channel 12 and other Israeli media reported on Sunday that Netanyahu visited the Gulf country to meet with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A visit in light of a dispute over an alleged Emirati warning

The visit came weeks after a controversial Israeli media report that the Emirati president warned Netanyahu ahead of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, a warning that the Israeli prime minister allegedly did not convey to the security services.

Netanyahu denied the veracity of this story.

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu flew to the UAE on Sunday to ask Sheikh Mohammed to deny issuing that warning to him in 2023.

The Prime Minister's Office said in its statement that publishing news of the visit "put the lives of the Prime Minister, his wife, and the accompanying delegation - which included the head of the Mossad and other senior security officials - in danger."

The office indicated that the announcement of the visit was made while the Prime Minister's plane was still outside Israeli airspace.

It is noteworthy that Israel and the UAE established official diplomatic relations in 2020 within the framework of the “Abraham Accords” that were reached with American mediation.

AM/AM (AFP, DPA)