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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he is taking legal action against the prominent Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, following the publication of an investigative report alleging that he had received an advance warning from the United Arab Emirates regarding Hamas’s military plans shortly before the catastrophic attacks of October 7, 2023.
The Israeli prime minister forcefully rejected the claims in a public statement released on the social media platform X on Wednesday. Describing the published story as entirely fabricated and false, Netanyahu confirmed that he had instructed his legal representatives to file lawsuits against the media outlet as well as the specific journalists who authored the piece, Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yaval.
The contested report, which was published on Tuesday, claimed that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, widely known as MBZ, had directly reached out to Netanyahu approximately ten days prior to the cross-border assault. According to the newspaper, the Emirati leader sought to caution Israel about a major operation being orchestrated by the Palestinian group Hamas.
According to Haaretz’s account, the intelligence originated from then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was reportedly growing increasingly frustrated with the breakdown of prisoner swap negotiations and the ongoing Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. The publication asserted that Sinwar had communicated ominous messages through an intermediary to the UAE, hinting at a "huge surprise" and advising contacts that Israel should brace itself for an "earthquake."
Emirati officials and close aides to the UAE president reportedly interpreted these communications as a clear indication of a looming, large-scale offensive. The report alleged that the UAE subsequently relayed this sensitive intelligence to Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, but the agency supposedly dismissed the credibility of the threat.
Following the initial dismissal by Israeli security apparatuses, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed allegedly escalated the matter by contacting Netanyahu directly via telephone to communicate his concerns. The Haaretz report claimed that the Israeli prime minister also disregarded the warning, failing to take preemptive measures before the cross-border infiltration unfolded days later.
When approached regarding the assertions in the report, the Emirati government maintained a policy of non-engagement. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official statement clarifying that the government does not issue commentary on media stories or unverified speculation involving private discussions between state leaders.
In his rebuttal, Netanyahu offered specific details to counter the claim that any such high-level dialogue had taken place. He stated that both the National Security Council and his Military Secretary had conducted a comprehensive and meticulous review of the official prime ministerial call records covering the dates in question, discovering no evidence whatsoever of a conversation with the Emirati president.
Expanding on his pushback, the Israeli leader released an additional statement accusing Muhammad Dahlan, an exiled Palestinian political figure residing in the UAE, of being the primary source behind the story. Netanyahu characterized the narrative as an intentional fabrication coordinated to cause political harm.
Dahlan, who was once a senior figure in the Fatah movement before being expelled in 2011 amid an intense political dispute with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, swiftly rejected Netanyahu’s accusations through his representatives, according to Israeli news reports.
The controversy has erupted against the backdrop of an intensely competitive domestic political climate in Israel, where Netanyahu is battling to maintain his office ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October. Public opinion polling has shown the long-serving prime minister trailing behind key rivals, particularly former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot.
Seizing upon the timing of the publication, Netanyahu framed the Haaretz report as a politically motivated operation designed to undermine his standing before the electorate. He claimed that the assertions were part of an orchestrated election campaign by the political left to weaponize the events of October 7 against his leadership.
The October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian fighters resulted in the deaths of at least 1,195 people in southern Israel and saw approximately 251 individuals taken captive into Gaza. The events triggered Israel’s protracted and devastating military assault on the Gaza Strip, which has led to the killing of at least 73,669 Palestinians.
As Israeli political factions prepare their candidate rosters for the upcoming Knesset vote, questions surrounding government accountability, intelligence oversight, and the handling of early security warnings continue to dominate the national discourse, turning the courtroom dispute between Netanyahu and Haaretz into a major focal point of the campaign season.
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