Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu makes unannounced visit to UAE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a secret, unannounced visit to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, September 27, 2026, where he met with the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. While Netanyahu's office and the Emirati government have maintained official silence, reports from major outlets, including the Associated Press, indicate that the primary objective of the one-hour meeting was to request that the UAE President publicly deny a recent claim published by the newspaper Haaretz. The newspaper alleged that the UAE leader had warned Netanyahu ten days prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that the group was planning a large-scale military operation.

Following the publication of the report, which is currently the subject of intense political debate in Israel ahead of the October 27 elections, opposition leaders have leveled accusations against the Prime Minister regarding failures of national intelligence. While some sources suggest the meeting also covered regional security concerns involving Iran, other reports emphasize Netanyahu's attempt to mitigate political damage caused by the allegations of prior warnings. Netanyahu has previously denied the claims regarding these warnings and has threatened legal action against the publishing media outlets.