Netanyahu has repeatedly denied receiving warnings before 7 October. Now a source says he privately asked the UAE president to deny one of the accounts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed during a secret meeting on Sunday to deny Haaretz’s report that the Emirati leader had warned him of an impending Hamas attack shortly before 7 October 2023, a person familiar with the matter said.

The source corroborated Haaretz’s reporting on the topic from Sunday. Sources in the United Arab Emirates told Haaretz that Netanyahu and bin Zayed met at the airport.

Netanyahu asked the Emirati president to deny reports of their phone conversation as well as details concerning the events leading up to 7 October that could embarrass him, according to the sources. He also asked bin Zayed for what the source described as “moral support”.

The person who described Netanyahu’s request said they had first-hand knowledge of the meeting. That person and a regional official briefed on the meeting spoke on condition of anonymity as the trip was secret.

The UAE’s foreign ministry declined to comment on reports about the meeting, but said it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares “all relevant intelligence”. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.

According to Haaretz’s investigation, published earlier this month, the Emirati president called Netanyahu about a week and a half before 7 October and spoke with him for 45 minutes. He explicitly warned Netanyahu that Hamas leader in Gaza........

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