Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ruling Likud party issued a formal statement demanding a criminal investigation into Haaretz newspaper, journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, Democrats party leader Yair Golan, and the Democrats party itself. The demand comes after Haaretz published an investigative report claiming that United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed phoned Netanyahu days before the October 7 massacre to warn him about an impending attack prepared by Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar.
Netanyahu rejected the report entirely, alleging that senior Palestinian official Mohammad Dahlan, currently residing in the UAE, orchestrated the publication to manipulate upcoming domestic elections. "The real affair that was discovered in the last two days is blatant foreign interference in the elections in Israel," the official statement from Netanyahu's office claimed. "The person behind the false report in Haaretz newspaper is senior Palestinian official Mohammad Dahlan, who sits in the Emirates".
The prime minister's office asserted that Dahlan formed a joint list with Hamas for Palestinian Authority elections and aims to dismantle Netanyahu's government to gain authority over the Gaza Strip. The statement alleged that reporter Shlomi Eldar received funding from a left wing organization affiliated with Yair Golan's party to spread false narratives. The statement also pointed to a secret visit made two months prior to the UAE by Yair Golan and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, asking, "Is this secret visit related to the false publication in Haaretz?".
Democrats party leader Yair Golan publicly mocked the prime minister on social media platform X, writing, "Bibi, you sound to me like you're in distress, send me a grid reference and I will come rescue you." Meanwhile, former Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer firmly denied the claims during the MEAD Conference in Washington. Dermer explained that as part of his mandate to expand the Abraham Accords, he participated in or was briefed on all communications between Netanyahu and the UAE leader.
"If there had been a call I would have been in it, because one of the tasks assigned to me was expanding the Abraham Accords and strengthening the partnership with the United Arab Emirates," Dermer stated at the conference. "So all the conversations that took place between the Prime Minister and Mohamed bin Zayed, the leader of the Emirates, I was party to the details or I was on the line during the call itself, and this call did not take place. I don't know where they brought this story from. I think the Emiratis were clear that this didn't happen. We are clear that this didn't happen. So it's basically a fiction. Simply a fabricated story".
The Haaretz report by Eldar and Yuval claimed that Mohamed bin Zayed held a 45 minute phone call with Netanyahu prior to October 7, warning of Sinwar's intentions. According to the publication, Sinwar passed a message via a mediator saying, "Pass a message to them that I am preparing a surprise for them from the land of surprises. A formidable operation. Something extraordinary," while repeating the word "zilzal" (earthquake).
Haaretz alleged that Netanyahu reassured the UAE president during the call, claiming Hamas was focused primarily on Judea and Samaria. The report further alleged that information from the conversation was never passed to the IDF Chief of Staff, Shin Bet, or Mossad. Netanyahu instructed his legal team to file a libel lawsuit against Haaretz, calling the story a fabricated libel, while asserting that had intelligence officials updated him in time on internal operational indicators, the massacre could have been prevented.
