Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior Israeli official told Reuters. The meeting marked a high-level engagement between the two countries, which established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the Abraham Accords.

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE foreign ministry immediately commented on the meeting. The visit comes as renewed attention focuses on a report that Sheikh Mohammed had warned Netanyahu about preparations for a major Hamas operation before the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Netanyahu Meets UAE President

The meeting between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed comes amid continued diplomatic engagement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates despite tensions across the region.

The UAE has previously said that Abu Dhabi and Israel have maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since establishing diplomatic relations under the Abraham Accords.

A UAE source previously told Reuters that security matters are discussed with other countries through the “relevant entities”, but not “at the level of national leaders”.

Haaretz Report Draws Renewed Attention

Netanyahu’s visit comes as scrutiny has increased over a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz concerning the events before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

According to the report, Sheikh Mohammed warned Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack that Hamas was preparing a major operation against Israel. The report said the warning was not passed on to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military.

Netanyahu has denied the report and threatened legal action against Haaretz. The issue comes as he faces a difficult re-election campaign, with opposition leaders accusing him of bearing responsibility for security failures that preceded the Hamas attack.

The UAE has not commented on the Haaretz report.

Previous Reports Of Netanyahu-Sheikh Mohammed Meeting

Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed have previously been reported to have held private meetings in the UAE. In May, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli prime minister had “secretly visited” the Gulf country and met its president.

The UAE, however, denied at the time that Sheikh Mohammed had met Netanyahu. A source familiar with the matter later told Reuters that the two leaders had met in Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi near the UAE’s border with Oman, on March 26.

The latest reported meeting therefore marks another high-level contact between the Israeli and Emirati leadership, although neither side immediately issued a public statement about Sunday’s encounter.

UAE-Israel Ties And Regional Diplomacy

The UAE has strengthened its ties with the United States and Israel since coming under attack during the war with Iran. Its diplomatic relationship with Israel, established through the 2020 Abraham Accords, has also provided Abu Dhabi with a channel for regional influence and communication with Washington.

The latest engagement comes against a backdrop of continuing regional tensions and renewed scrutiny of the security failures surrounding the October 7 attack.

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