Netanyahu UAE Warning: October 7 Inquiry Demand Grows

Four prominent Israeli opposition leaders issued a sharp joint statement Tuesday following a published report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an explicit warning from the United Arab Emirates ten days before the October 7 massacre, but chose to disregard it.

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, former defense minister Avigdor Liberman, and former deputy chief of staff Yair Golan released the statement under the banner of the "Change Camp" opposition alliance.

"The Israeli public deserves to know what happened before, during, and after the October 7 massacre," the statement read. "A state commission of inquiry will be established immediately in the next government. This is the leadership's duty to its citizens."

According to an investigative report published Tuesday morning in Haaretz, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed made an unusual phone call to Netanyahu, warning that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a "significant event." The Emirati leader told the Israeli prime minister that Sinwar had conveyed a message indicating he was preparing an "earthquake."

The investigation found that Netanyahu's response to the warning was complete indifference. The prime minister reportedly assessed that the threat concerned an escalation in the West Bank and chose not to inform the defense minister, military chief of staff, head of the Shin Bet security service, or head of the Mossad intelligence agency about the warning's content. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report, calling it "an absolute lie."

"This morning's shocking revelation demands immediate and thorough investigation," the opposition leaders wrote. "It joins a series of revelations about Netanyahu's failures and dysfunction, and it underscores once again why Netanyahu is fighting for his life—to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry and the exposure of the truth to the Israeli public."

The statement accused Netanyahu sharply: "While Netanyahu and his people spread false conspiracy theories and try to place responsibility on the security establishment, it emerges again that serious warnings reached him directly and he ignored them. This is negligence and a breach of the trust that Israeli citizens placed in him and his government, and it is also extreme dereliction in the prime minister's role and function."

The statement posed a direct question to the prime minister: "The Israeli public has a right to know: What did Netanyahu know, when did he know it, why didn't he update the security establishment, and why didn't he act to protect Israeli citizens?"

The opposition leaders pledged that "immediately upon establishing the thirty-eighth government under our leadership, we will establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures that led to the October 7 catastrophe, get to the truth, and ensure this disaster never repeats itself."

The statement concluded: "Netanyahu and his partners in the October 7 government are unfit to continue in office. We will work with the necessary coordination and responsibility to prevent them from leading to another disaster."

Former Prime Minister Bennett responded separately to the report with sharp criticism: "This morning's publication that Netanyahu was warned ten days before the October 7 massacre about Sinwar's intentions --- is true." Bennett attributed direct responsibility to Netanyahu for the failures that led to the massacre.