Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Reuters reports

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.

Reuters reported that there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office or the UAE Foreign Ministry.

The visit came after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported earlier this month that Sheikh Mohammed had warned Netanyahu about a week and a half before the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel, according to Reuters.

Haaretz said the warning was not passed on to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military.

Netanyahu, who has 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.

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.

As per Reuters, 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.

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.