Netanyahu denies seeking UAE denial on October 7 warnings

Hours after the exposure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's secret visit to the United Arab Emirates alongside Israel's top security and intelligence officials, Netanyahu zt"l issued a sharp response Monday evening, forcefully denying reports that he sought a denial from the UAE president regarding warnings allegedly passed before October 7.

According to an official statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the visit took place at the personal invitation of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and included a summit meeting attended by the Mossad chief, the head of the National Security Council, the military secretary, and the political adviser. Discussions focused on strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries and the complex regional challenges ahead.

In direct response to publications claiming the central topic was an attempt to obscure past warnings, Netanyahu stated unequivocally: "Fake news. The visit dealt solely with strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges."

Meanwhile, the UAE's state news agency also broke its silence and issued official confirmation of the secret meeting, emphasizing that the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to deepen them, providing diplomatic backing for the political and security nature of the visit amid the storm.

Shin Bet: "Risk to prime minister's security"

The Shin Bet filed a complaint Monday evening with the chief military censor demanding that Channel 12 be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" following last night's publication of the prime minister's secret visit to the UAE. According to the Shin Bet, the publication constituted a severe censorship violation that endangered the prime minister's security and exposed the service's operational methods.

"Publication of the visit at the stage it was published created a risk to the prime minister's security, to the operation, and to forces on the ground," the Shin Bet stated. "In addition, publication of the visit and the manner in which it was conducted exposed the service's operational methods, placing future operations at significantly higher risk."

The complaint focuses on the timing of the publication: Channel 12's report aired last night at 9:38 PM, when the prime minister's aircraft was far from Israeli borders. The plane landed in Israel only about an hour later, at 10:27 PM. According to the complaint, publication while the delegation was still airborne created a real security risk.

Alongside the complaint, the Prime Minister's Office disclosed Monday evening the composition of the delegation that accompanied Netanyahu to the Emirates. The publication endangered, it was claimed, the lives of the prime minister and his wife, and the entourage that included the Mossad chief, the National Security Council head, Major General Guy Markizano the military secretary, the head of the Shin Bet's security division, the security team, and the political adviser.

The secret visit, which lasted approximately six hours, took place Sunday. According to reports, Netanyahu took off in the morning hours on a private aircraft to Abu Dhabi and remained in the Emirates throughout the day. The Prime Minister's Office refuses to provide additional details about the content of the conversations between the two leaders beyond the official statement.

The report comes against the backdrop of a wave of investigations and publications in recent weeks claiming that the UAE president warned Netanyahu before October 7 of a possible Hamas attack. The New York Times reported that two sources confirmed to the paper that the Emirati leader passed the information in a personal phone call in September 2023, though the warning did not include precise technical details about the nature of the invasion.

Netanyahu has forcefully rejected these reports, and now, following the secret visit to the Emirates, he is launching an offensive against what he terms "fake news." The official response from the Emirati news agency, which confirmed the meeting and its political-security content, provides the prime minister with diplomatic backing at this time.