ABU DHABI: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to a senior Israeli official.
The unannounced visit comes amid heightened regional tensions and renewed scrutiny of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Israeli television channels 12 and KAN, along with Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post, also reported the one-day visit. Channel 12 said Netanyahu travelled on a private plane and spent the day in Abu Dhabi.
Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE Foreign Ministry immediately commented on the reports.
Visit Comes Amid Security Dispute
The meeting comes weeks after Haaretz reported that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu about a planned major Hamas operation around a week and a half before the October 7, 2023 attack.
According to the report, the warning did not reach Israeli intelligence agencies or the military.
Netanyahu has denied the report and threatened legal action against Haaretz. Meanwhile, opposition leaders in Israel have accused his government of responsibility for security failures before the Hamas attack.
The UAE has not directly commented on the reported warning. However, Abu Dhabi has previously said its relationship with Israel includes “open and direct lines of communication.”
A UAE source previously told Reuters that Abu Dhabi discusses security matters with other countries through the “relevant entities” rather than at the level of national leaders.
Previous Reports of Netanyahu-UAE Meetings
The latest meeting is also notable because Abu Dhabi denied earlier this year that Sheikh Mohamed had met Netanyahu during the Iran war.
That denial followed a statement from Netanyahu’s office in May claiming that the Israeli prime minister had “secretly visited” the UAE and met its president.
However, a source familiar with the matter later told Reuters that the two leaders had met in Al Ain on March 26.
Al Ain is an oasis city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi near the border with Oman.
Israel-UAE Ties
Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
The Emirates became one of the first Arab states to formally normalise relations with Israel.
Since then, the relationship has gained importance amid wider regional tensions, particularly during the conflict involving Iran.
The UAE has strengthened ties with both the United States and Israel following attacks during the Iran war.
The latest reported meeting therefore comes against a complex regional backdrop, with Israel and the UAE maintaining diplomatic ties while tensions across the region remain high.
It also comes as Israel faces renewed domestic debate over what Netanyahu and other officials knew before the October 7 attack.
