United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed urgently contacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a week and a half before the October 7th Massacre and warned him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning large-scale military action, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, in a 45-minute phone conversation at the end of September 2023, Bin Zayid stressed that such an attack is likely to cause widespread bloodshed, undermine regional stability, and harm the Abraham Accords.
The report further claims that despite the severity of the information, Netanyahu responded with restraint. He reportedly claimed that, according to his assessment, Hamas was headed for action in Judea and Samaria, and did not even pass the content of the conversation over to the heads of the security establishment.
Additionally, the report notes that in mid-September, the Shin Bet received a similar alert. However, the agency believed that the alert concerned intentions to transfer Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq, to the Gaza Strip. The Shin Bet saw the information as a sign of waning deterrence and recommended taking aggressive action or reinforcing troops. However, a special meeting held on the matter ended without a decision. It should be noted that in the past there were reports of a similar warning the Shin Bet received from Egyptian intelligence that was not acted upon.
The Prime Minister's Office commented on the report: "Total lies! Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak to the Emirati President during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him."