UAE Denies Warning Netanyahu Before October 7 Attack

Against the backdrop of Israel's heated election campaign, in which security issues occupy center stage in political messaging, an unusual official response arrived from the United Arab Emirates addressing the political storm.

An official Emirati source in Abu Dhabi responded to allegations that the UAE had passed a warning to Israel about an approaching Hamas attack in the weeks before the October 7 massacre.

In response to an inquiry from The National, an Emirati newspaper considered close to the government, the source rejected claims of a warning delivered at the highest levels. According to the official, "The UAE discusses security matters with other countries through the relevant bodies, and does not discuss details of this kind at the level of state leaders."

Abu Dhabi's clarification comes in an attempt to distance itself from Israel's political fray, while conveying a clear message: if conversations on sensitive security matters took place, they were conducted through routine intelligence and security channels, not through direct communication between heads of state.

The response follows reports published in Haaretz claiming that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed called Prime Minister Netanyahu just ten days before the October 7, 2023 terror attack and warned him of a large-scale plot. The Prime Minister firmly denied the report.

The Likud issued a sharp response, claiming that Palestinian senior official Mohammed Dahlan was behind the publication. "The real scandal revealed in the past two days is blatant foreign interference in Israel's elections," Likud stated. According to them, "It has become clear that behind the false report in Haaretz stands the Palestinian senior official Mohammed Dahlan, who is based in the Emirates."

Arch-murderer Sinwar (Photo: Screenshot)

Following the controversy, a senior Israeli intelligence official clarified that this was not an operational warning. According to i24news, the real purpose was to create a smokescreen: while Sinwar was conveying messages of arrangement, his deputy had already finalized the date of the massacre with Iran.

In September 2023 "intelligence" information was passed from Yahya Sinwar to Sufian Abu Zaida, a senior Fatah figure and associate of Dahlan. The information was reportedly passed shortly thereafter both to Dahlan himself and to the Shin Bet. Abu Zaida has maintained for a long time contacts with senior Hamas figure Ghazi Hamad, a channel that according to past reports was established on Prime Minister Netanyahu's orders after Operation Protective Edge.