Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Israeli official says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi and met with ​UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday, a ‌senior Israeli official told Reuters.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that Netanyahu travelled on a private plane owned by an unnamed Israeli businessman and used by senior Israeli figures for international trips.

It departed Ben Gurion Airport in the afternoon and landed in Abu Dhabi at 3:10 pm (1110GMT), the broadcaster said. It took off for Israel at 7:10 pm (1510GMT), four hours later, and landed shortly after 10pm (1900GMT).

KAN said Netanyahu had also used the aircraft for a trip to Abu Dhabi during the war with Iran.

According to Haaretz, Netanyahu asked Al Nahyan during the secret meeting to deny Haaretz's report that the Emirati leader had warned him of an impending Hamas attack shortly before October 7, 2023, a person familiar with the matter said.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office and the UAE's foreign ministry.

The visit comes after Haaretz this month reported that Sheikh Mohamed ​had warned Netanyahu a week and a half before October 7, 2023, ​that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel. Haaretz had reported that the warning was not passed to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military.

Netanyahu, ​who denied the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper, is facing a tough reelection campaign. Opposition leaders have accused the prime minister of bearing responsibility for security failures that preceded Hamas' October 7 attack.

Read: Netanyahu warned by UAE president before October 7 events, failed to brief security chiefs: Haaretz

On Friday, the New York Times also reported that Netanyahu had received a confidential warning from the UAE president before the Hamas attack but had not passed it on to Israel’s security chiefs.

The UAE declined to comment on the ​Haaretz report but said it and Israel maintained "open and direct ​lines of communication" since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020. A UAE source previously told Reuters ‌that ⁠the UAE discusses security matters with countries through the "relevant entities," but not "at the level of national leaders".

Earlier this year, the UAE denied that Sheikh Mohamed met with Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister's office said in May that Netanyahu ​had "secretly visited" the Gulf ​country and met ⁠with the president.

A source familiar with the meeting said at the time that Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed met in ​Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi along the country's ​border with ⁠Oman, on March 26.

Read More: Israeli newspaper rejects Netanyahu’s demands, vows to reveal truth in court after lawsuit threat

Since coming under attack during the Iran war, the UAE has strengthened its relationships with the United States and Israel, with which it opened ties ⁠as ​a result of the 2020 Abraham Accords. The ​relationship with Israel gives the UAE a lever for regional influence and a unique channel to Washington.