In a swift response to a controversial report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied receiving any explicit warning from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that ignited the Gaza war. The statement, released on Tuesday, called the newspaper’s claim “malicious libel with clear political timing” and announced that Netanyahu has instructed his attorneys to file a defamation lawsuit against both Haaretz and the reporter who filed the story.
Haaretz’s allegation and the lack of corroboration
According to Haaretz, days before the Oct. 7 assault, the Emirati leader allegedly warned Netanyahu via a phone call that Hamas leaders in Gaza were planning a major offensive. The report further claimed that Netanyahu did not pass the warning on to Israel’s security officials. CBS News has not independently verified the story, and Haaretz reiterated its position in a Tuesday statement.
Official denial and investigation
Netanyahu’s office categorically denied any conversation between the Israeli prime minister and the UAE president. “No conversation took place between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates,” the statement read. It added that a thorough check by the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council, and the Military Secretariat found no record of a call or an Emirati visitor to the prime minister’s office from early September through Oct. 7, 2023.
The office also noted that when the Emirati leader wishes to speak with Netanyahu, a representative from the UAE provides a specially encrypted phone for the conversation, a detail that aligns with the newspaper’s description of diplomatic protocol.
Political context and upcoming elections
The controversy surfaces as Israel prepares for national legislative elections on Oct. 27. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, a rival candidate who has met with the Emirati leader multiple times, posted on social media that he believes the Haaretz report is true, accusing Netanyahu of “criminal negligence” for allegedly ignoring the warning.
Netanyahu has consistently argued that his advisers and security officials did not alert him until the attack was already underway. He maintains that the heads of Israel’s security agencies, not the prime minister, bear responsibility for any failure to act.
Recent scrutiny of Netanyahu’s actions on Oct. 7
Public debate over Netanyahu’s handling of the Oct. 7 events intensified after Israel’s national broadcaster Kan News revealed a three‑hour gap between the prime minister being woken at 6:27 a.m. by his military secretary and his first request to speak with the country’s top general. Netanyahu’s office released a schedule that roughly confirms this timeline, noting that he spoke with the defense minister around 8 a.m. while en route to the Ministry of Defense.
In the weeks leading up to the attack, Netanyahu received warnings from senior security and political officials that Israel’s enemies were contemplating an assault, amid widespread protests against his government’s judicial overhaul. He has contended that those warnings did not specify a Gaza‑originated attack or a precise timeline, and that intelligence assessments at the time suggested Hamas was not planning a major escalation.
Calls for a formal inquiry
To date, Netanyahu has rejected demands for a formal state inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack, a standard procedure in Israel after national catastrophes. Political opponents have pledged to launch an inquiry immediately if they win the upcoming election.
The UAE, which normalized relations with Israel five years ago, issued a statement confirming that it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel but neither confirmed nor denied the specific phone‑call allegation.
Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.
