Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered lawyers to begin a defamation lawsuit against the Israeli newspaper Ha Rets, following a story that the United Arab Emirates’ president warned him of the 7‑Oct Hamas attack.
According to extracted passages from the book Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment, Ha Rets claims Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had a phone conversation with Netanyahu in late September 2023, during which the UAE leader warned him of a major operation planned by Hamas, described as an “earthquake”.
Netanyahu’s office has rejected the claim, stating no warning was received from the UAE before the attack and calling the report part of a “sinister plot”. Ha Rets responds that it is standing by its reporting, arguing it “sole purpose is to silence journalistic criticism”.
The dispute has arisen at a time when Israel’s general election campaign is heating up, with polls seeing victories for the opposition as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. Critics have already questioned his decision‑making in the days leading up to the assault and called for an independent inquiry.
Ha Rets’ analysis notes the UAE’s representative conveyed the conversation to US Central Intelligence Agency director William J Burns, and that Netanyahu did not brief Israeli security agencies or the army chief about the phone call. The report was published the same day that the United Kingdom announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a move that triggered Israeli counter‑measures, including a consulate closure in East Jerusalem.
In response, Ha Rets assures that the story is a product of “an in‑depth journalistic investigation” and based on “sources pertaining to an issue of paramount public importance”. Ha Rets’ lawyers have said they will not be deterred by the prime minister’s attempts to silence criticism.
The UAE has not addressed the alleged warning directly, but its ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement emphasizing that it has maintained open lines of communication with Israel since the start of the relationship, and that “all relevant intelligence has been communicated as needed.”
Several opposition leaders, including Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan, jointly called for an investigation into the 7‑Oct attack, declaring Netanyahu and his administration “unfit to continue in office.”
