Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of eastern Libya's forces, may have traveled to Abu Dhabi on Monday to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seek Israeli political support for his presidential ambitions, according to a report published by the Italian newspaper Il Foglio.
Netanyahu traveled to the United Arab Emirates for a meeting with President Mohammed bin Zayed, during which he reportedly sought a public denial of a Haaretz report claiming that Emirati intelligence had warned Israel about the October 7 attacks and that Netanyahu had ignored the warning.
However, attention also turned to several government aircraft arriving at Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen airport around the same time as the Israeli Prime Minister.
Among aircraft arriving from Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, flight-tracking websites identified an Airbus A319 arriving from Benghazi, bearing registration P4-KH5I9. The aircraft is regularly used by Saddam Haftar and reportedly landed at 12:40 p.m., approximately 20 minutes after Netanyahu's arrival.
Mohamed Buisier, a former political adviser to Saddam's father, Khalifa Haftar, claimed on X that the timing was deliberate and that Saddam had met Netanyahu to obtain political backing for his candidacy for the Libyan presidency.
This would not be Haftar's first reported contact with Israel. In 2021, Haaretz tracked an aircraft associated with him to Ben Gurion Airport, where he reportedly met Mossad representatives. Later that year, Israel Hayom reported an agreement between the Haftar family and an Israeli lobbying and communications firm, facilitated by the UAE.
According to Il Foglio, Saddam is seeking to strengthen his international standing following revelations concerning his alleged involvement in a Libyan-Spanish terrorist cell operating in Zawiya and Tripoli. The report links the cell to attacks targeting infrastructure and military and political figures in western Libya.
Haftar is also pursuing closer relations with Washington through Ballard Partners, an American consulting firm representing his interests since March.
The Italian newspaper reports that Saddam is expected to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, following a June meeting in the United States with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Sources familiar with his activities told Il Foglio that Haftar is attempting to establish himself as an indispensable political figure, despite allegations concerning drone attacks against oil infrastructure in western Libya.
Beyond these contacts, Haftar is reportedly seeking ties with US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
According to the report, Refaat al Abbar, a close Haftar associate identified in UN reports as his influential representative within Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC), could facilitate the connection.
Al Abbar is currently competing with Mohamed Dabaiba, son of Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba, for control of Waha Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of the NOC.
The younger Dabaiba has effectively assumed control of the company, while a series of sabotage incidents targeting western Libyan oil facilities has reportedly involved Zintan tribes aligned with Haftar.
Sources cited by Il Foglio claim that the Haftar family is seeking Guilfoyle's mediation to regain influence over Waha Oil and Gas.
The report also references a recent Wall Street Journal investigation alleging that Guilfoyle improperly promoted sales of US-produced liquefied natural gas. It remains unclear whether the allegations could affect her diplomatic position.
Meanwhile, Haftar is reportedly searching for alternative political support amid uncertainty surrounding Massad Boulos, President Trump's relative by marriage, who has backed efforts to unify Libya.
According to the report, the revelations surrounding the alleged terrorist cell could undermine Boulos' political standing, prompting Haftar to explore Guilfoyle as another potential connection to the Trump administration.