Israeli Politics · updated 3h ago · 3 min read
Netanyahu Sends Warning Letter, Threatens Libel Suit Against Haaretz Over UAE Warning Report
Netanyahu instructed lawyers to file defamation suit against Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar. Haaretz reported UAE president warned Netanyahu about a Hamas attack before Oct. 7, 2023.
Whether Netanyahu is personally warned by the UAE president.
3 of 4 outlets skipped it: the alleged call used a special encrypted-device procedure.
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Haaretz
“Netanyahu sent a warning letter ahead of a libel suit against Haaretz and journalists”Read the original ↗
The New York Times
“The Emirati foreign ministry said in a statement that it did not comment on “media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders.”Read the original ↗
Haaretz coverage spotlights Netanyahu’s denial and legal action, while NYT stresses official non-confirmation.
UAE warning dispute
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a warning letter ahead of a libel suit against Haaretz and journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval over a report he received a warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed about a major Hamas operation before the October 7 attack.H
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday sent a warning letter ahead of a libel suit against Haaretz and journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval”
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu’s office said there had been no communication between Netanyahu and the UAE from the start of September, 2023, until the October 7 attack, and Netanyahu’s office said the story was completely fabricated.H
Netanyahu said he had instructed his lawyers to file a libel suit against Haaretz and Eldar, demanding the newspaper remove the article, publish a public apology and retraction, and pay him 1 million shekels as a settlement.H
In his letter, Netanyahu said: "Contrary to what was claimed, from the beginning of September until October 7, no conversation took place between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates."
The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu again denied a Haaretz report and said he had ordered his lawyers to sue the outlet and its reporter, Shlomi Eldar, while reasserting on X that there was no call between him and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed between early September 2023 and the October 7 invasion.H
Opposition and denials
The New York Times said Israeli opposition politicians called Netanyahu “unfit” for office after Haaretz reported he was warned about a planned Hamas operation weeks before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack but did not alert security officials.
The New York Times reported that Haaretz said Netanyahu had a 45-minute phone call with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in late September 2023 and was told about a plan by Hamas to attack Israel and destabilize the region, a claim Netanyahu’s office denied.
Netanyahu vowed to sue Haaretz for libel and called the report “a wicked fabrication with clear political timing,” while saying security officials had found no record that he had spoken with Sheikh Mohamed between September 2023 and the Oct. H7 attack.
The Times of Israel said Netanyahu claimed the report was “a sinister libel with clear political timing, as part of the left’s election campaign,” and said that if Israel’s security chiefs had alerted him about signs of a Hamas attack hours before it started, “the terrible massacre could have been prevented.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that the PMO stated the story was completely fabricated and that there had been no communication between Netanyahu and the UAE from the start of September, 2023, until the October 7 attack.
What Netanyahu says next
Netanyahu’s warning letter and statements centered on documentation, with ynetglobal reporting that Netanyahu said the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council and the military secretary’s office checked call logs and found no record of a conversation with the UAE president.
“As a rule, diplomatic calls between the prime minister and the UAE president take place exclusively at the Prime Minister's Office”
ynetglobal also reported Netanyahu’s account of how calls would be handled, saying: "As a rule, diplomatic calls between the prime minister and the UAE president take place exclusively at the Prime Minister's Office through the UAE representative, who comes to the office with a special encrypted device."
The Jerusalem Post reported that officials in the Biden administration were “unaware” of the UAE’s October 7 warning to Netanyahu, according to sources told to the Post.
In Netanyahu’s framing, he said Ronen Bar and Herzi Halevi saw warning signs many hours before the attack began and that if they had instructed the IDF, Shin Bet and alert squads to take preventive action, “the horrific massacre could have been prevented,” as quoted by ynetglobal.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that UN Secretary-General Guterres condemned “Israeli escalation” in Lebanon and called for IDF withdrawal, while its Reuters-linked live updates continued to track Israel’s wider security posture alongside the Netanyahu-Haaretz dispute.H