Overview
- Haaretz published an excerpt from a new book saying UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for about 45 minutes in late September 2023 and warned that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation.
- The report says Netanyahu did not relay that alleged call to Israel’s top security chiefs, including the Shin Bet, Mossad and the IDF chief of staff, a claim former security leaders say they were not told about.
- Haaretz says its account is based on dozens of interviews, recordings and documents, and it also reports that the warning from Sinwar reached a Palestinian intermediary and Shin Bet in mid‑September 2023.
- The Prime Minister’s Office issued a categorical denial calling the Haaretz report an “absolute lie,” and the UAE has not publicly commented on the account.
- Opposition leaders and some former officials are demanding an independent probe and verification of the book’s claims because confirmation would change how failures before Oct. 7 are understood and could affect political accountability ahead of the election.