Netanyahu received UAE warning before Oct. 7 but did not alert security chiefs: Haaretz
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says reported warning was genuine and accuses Netanyahu of “criminal negligence”
TEL AVIV (MNTV) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly warned by the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was preparing a major attack shortly before Oct. 7, 2023, but did not relay the warning to senior Israeli security officials.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu for about 45 minutes roughly a week and a half before the attack.
Citing Israeli and foreign sources, recordings, documents and correspondence, the newspaper said bin Zayed warned Netanyahu that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel.
Netanyahu reportedly believed any operation would target the occupied West Bank and told the UAE leader that Israel was prepared for any scenario.
Haaretz said Netanyahu did not inform the heads of the Shin Bet domestic security service or Mossad intelligence agency, or the Israeli military chief of staff, about the conversation.
A senior Shin Bet official told the newspaper that receiving such information “could have changed our entire assessment picture.”
The report said bin Zayed later raised his concerns with then-CIA Director William Burns, telling him that he had warned Netanyahu that “something there is about to explode.”
According to Haaretz, the alleged UAE warning was among several indications received by Israeli authorities before Oct. 7.
A Palestinian intermediary reportedly conveyed a message from Sinwar in September 2023 referring to an approaching “huge surprise” and “earthquake.”
That warning reached Shin Bet on Sept. 15 and led then-agency chief Ronen Bar to brief Netanyahu, the newspaper reported.
Haaretz also said then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel had warned Netanyahu’s office that Hamas was preparing “something unusual.”
Netanyahu’s office rejected the report, saying he did not speak with the UAE president during the period in question and calling the allegation an “absolute lie.”
The UAE has not publicly commented on the report.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, however, said the report about the UAE warning was “true” and accused Netanyahu of “criminal negligence.”
“Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch,” Bennett wrote on X.
Opposition politician and former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot also accused Netanyahu of ignoring repeated warnings before Oct. 7.
Israel launched its war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. More than 73,000 Palestinians have since been killed and over 174,000 injured, while much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure has been destroyed.
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