Netanyahu met UAE president in Abu Dhabi Sunday: Israeli official

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.

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

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

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

The UAE has declined to comment on the Haaretz report but has said that UAE and Israel have 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 President 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 26 March.

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 UAE a lever for regional influence and a unique channel to Washington.