(Sept. 9, 2026 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz, journalist Shlomi Eldar and others over the newspaper’s claims that the United Arab Emirates had warned him ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre.
Netanyahu said reviews by the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and military secretariat found no record of a conversation between him and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan from the beginning of September through Oct. 7, 2023.
He also said entry records showed no visit by an Emirati representative who, according to Netanyahu, would have been required to facilitate such a call.
Netanyahu called the report a “malicious fabrication” and said it was meant to divert attention from what he described as failures by then-Israel Security Agency Chief Ronen Bar and then-Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, whom he blamed for not acting on warning signs before the attack or alerting him in time.
Haaretz reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed senior foreign sources, that Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu shortly before Oct. 7 that Hamas was planning a major attack.
Netanyahu’s office denied the report that day, while the UAE Foreign Ministry declined to confirm or deny the alleged conversation.
“The UAE government does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders,” the ministry said in a statement posted on X.
“The UAE’s engagement since October 7 was consistently directed toward de-escalation, regional stability and preventing violence,” it continued.
“UAE and Israeli government entities have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago. When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated between the relevant entities,” the ministry said.
The Haaretz report claimed that bin Zayed informed Netanyahu about an imminent attack that could destabilize the region in a phone call held 10 days before the Hamas-led invasion into the northwestern Negev.
The Israeli leader “reacted with relative calm,” according to the report, which has led to a political uproar in the run-up to Israel’s Oct. 27 general election.
