Secret visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to the United Arab Emirates. He reportedly met with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi (press)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, where he allegedly met secretly with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ, according to Channel 12 and Reuters. The visit reportedly lasted approximately four hours, and the prime minister’s private plane allegedly landed in Abu Dhabi at 15:10.

The information has not been officially confirmed. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the UAE Embassy in Israel, and the Emirates’ Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters cited a senior Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity, while Channel 12 mentioned two anonymous sources.

The alleged meeting comes amid controversy over a warning that MBZ reportedly sent Netanyahu approximately a week and a half before the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. According to Haaretz, the UAE leader allegedly warned Israel that the Palestinian group was preparing a large-scale operation, but the information reportedly did not reach the intelligence services or the army. Netanyahu denied the allegations and threatened the newspaper with legal action.

Relations between Israel and the UAE were established in 2020 through the Abraham Accords. An earlier secret visit by Netanyahu, reported in March, allegedly caused diplomatic tensions after the prime minister made it public, although Emirati officials had reportedly requested confidentiality.