Netanyahu met Libyan general's son in UAE, Italian paper reports

The Italian newspaper Il Foglio reported Tuesday afternoon on an unusual secret meeting that took place during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United Arab Emirates. According to the report, Netanyahu met with Sedam Haftar, son of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who controls eastern Libya.

The report states that Haftar's son landed in the Emirates just twenty minutes after the Israeli prime minister touched down. The publication joins a series of earlier reports over the years about possible contacts between Israeli figures and Haftar's camp, including claims that aircraft from his side landed at Ben Gurion Airport in 2021.

Netanyahu's secret visit to the UAE took place this past Sunday. The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that his wife joined him and that he met officially with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed. According to the office's statement, the diplomatic activity focused on strengthening strategic relations between the two countries and on issues relating to shared regional challenges.

Senior security officials took part in the meeting with the UAE president, including the head of the National Security Council, the Mossad chief, the military secretary and the political adviser. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that during the meeting with the Emirati leader, Netanyahu asked bin Zayed to deny an earlier report that the latter had warned him of threats before the October 7 attack.

Libya has been in deep political paralysis for over a decade, since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 after 42 years of rule. The regime's collapse left a power vacuum filled by armed militias and terror organisations. Since 2014, the country has been effectively divided between two rival governments: an official government recognised by the UN sitting in the capital Tripoli in the west and backed by Turkey and Qatar, and a parallel government in the east of the country whose unofficial capital is Benghazi.

The government in eastern Libya is effectively led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar and enjoys the patronage and encouragement of countries including Egypt, Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates. This arena has seen political upheavals in the past around attempts at rapprochement with Israel, such as the 2023 revelation by then-Foreign Minister Eli Cohen about his meeting with the Libyan foreign minister from the rival camp, an event that ultimately led to her dismissal from office.

The Shin Bet filed a complaint with the military censor following the publication about Netanyahu's visit to the Emirates. According to the Shin Bet, the publication constituted a serious 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 said.

Netanyahu responded sharply to reports about an attempt to obtain a denial from the UAE president. According to an official statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, the visit itself took place at the personal invitation of the UAE president. In a direct response to the publications, Netanyahu stated emphatically: "Fake news. The visit dealt solely with strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges."

The UAE's state news agency also published official confirmation of the secret meeting, emphasising that the two discussed bilateral relations and ways to deepen them. The Italian report about the meeting with the Libyan general's son has not yet been verified by additional sources.