Netanyahu Faces Backlash Over UAE Warning Report
Qwenews.com – Netanyahu faces backlash over report that the president of the United Arab Emirates phoned him roughly ten days before the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault, conveying intelligence that a major strike was imminent. With Israel’s general election now under two months away, the allegation has handed opposition candidates a fresh and potent line of attack, framing the deadliest day in the nation’s history as a preventable failure at the very top of government.
Opposition Leaders Issue Rare Joint Demand for Inquiry
Four opposition party heads — Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan — set aside their usual partisan divisions to release a single coordinated statement. They demanded “an immediate and thorough investigation” into what they described as the prime minister’s “failures and malfunctioning” in the weeks preceding the Hamas operation.
“The Israeli public is entitled to know: What did he know, when did he know, why he didn’t update the security establishment, and why he didn’t act to protect Israeli civilians?”
The unusually blunt language of a multi-party communiqué signaled that the opposition views the alleged warning as a linchpin in a broader narrative of ignored intelligence and dereliction at the highest level of state.
What the Account Describes — and How the PMO Responded
The story, drawn from research by Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruti Yuval for a forthcoming book and published in the Haaretz newspaper, details a 45-minute telephone conversation between UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and the Israeli leader approximately ten days before October 7. During that call, the account says, Bin Zayed conveyed that Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was preparing a significant military move capable of triggering widespread bloodshed and destabilizing the wider region.
The account further cited a message Sinwar had relayed to both the UAE and Israel through a Palestinian mediator in mid-September 2023, warning of an impending “earthquake.” The prime minister’s reaction, per the story, was described as “relatively calm”; he reportedly assured Bin Zayed that Israel stood ready for any scenario. The UAE Foreign Ministry had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
The Prime Minister’s Office moved swiftly to reject the account in its entirety, stating that the leader “did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him,” and dismissing the allegation as an “absolute lie.” The sharpness of the rebuttal underscored how politically combustible the claim has become in the weeks before voting.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a leading challenger, told followers on X that the account is “true” and that the supposed dismissal of the intelligence amounts to “criminal negligence.” His political ally, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, added his own voice, noting that he too had publicly cautioned about an impending attack before it materialized, as had senior Israeli security figures and Egyptian counterparts.
“If he had fulfilled his role, the massacre would have been prevented,” Lapid said in a statement.
October 7 in Context: Scale of Loss and the Accountability Vacuum
The October 7, 2023 Hamas operation killed more than 1,200 people and saw over 250 taken captive into Gaza, making it the single deadliest attack on Israel since its founding. Nearly three years on, the question of who bore political responsibility remains unresolved. The prime minister has outlasted virtually every member of the senior security leadership in place that day: the defense minister, the chief of staff, and the heads of military intelligence, Mossad, and the Shin Bet have all departed their posts through resignation, dismissal, or natural end of term.
Bereaved families and survivors have pressed repeatedly for an independent commission of inquiry into the security and intelligence lapses that permitted the operation to proceed. The prime minister has resisted such a mechanism, preferring instead a narrative in which his own security chiefs failed to rouse him the night before the attack despite intelligence indicators that a Hamas offensive was imminent. That framing has drawn sharp criticism from survivors’ groups, who argue it shifts blame downward while shielding the ultimate decision-maker.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the alleged UAE-to-Israel warning made? According to the Eldar and Yuval account published in Haaretz, the phone call took place approximately ten days before October 7, 2023, placing it in late September of that year.
Has the UAE confirmed the call took place? As of the time of publication, the UAE Foreign Ministry had not responded to requests for comment.
What is the Prime Minister’s Office position? The PMO has denied the account outright, calling it an “absolute lie” and stating that no such conversation or warning occurred during the period in question.
What do opposition leaders want? The four-party joint statement calls for an immediate and thorough investigation into the prime minister’s knowledge and actions in the run-up to October 7.