Netanyahu visits the Emirates, Abu Dhabi confirms meeting with President al-Nahyan

The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a conversation on Sunday during which they discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them. The Emirates’ state news agency confirmed Netanyahu’s visit to Abu Dhabi, making it the first official announcement by the Emirati side regarding the Israeli prime minister’s trip.

“The two sides discussed bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, as well as ways to strengthen and develop them,” the state news agency said in a statement, confirming earlier reports by Israeli media.

The visit was accompanied by controversy in Israel, as Netanyahu’s trip to the Emirates had not been made public in advance. Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, announced that it had filed a complaint against Channel 12 after the channel broadcast reports about the visit.

“Tonight, Shin Bet filed an official complaint with the head of military censorship, requesting that Channel 12 be prosecuted for serious violations of military censorship,” the prime minister’s office said.

According to Netanyahu’s office, publishing information about the visit could have created a security risk for the prime minister, his wife and members of the delegation, including the head of Mossad, as the news became public while the prime minister’s plane was outside Israeli airspace.

The visit to Abu Dhabi also comes at a sensitive political moment. In recent days, the Haaretz newspaper reported that the United Arab Emirates had warned Netanyahu, shortly before Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023, that the group was preparing an operation against Israel.

Netanyahu has denied receiving such a warning. According to reports by Israeli media, one of the purposes of the visit to the Emirates was also to ask President Mohamed bin Zayed to publicly deny that he had given the Israeli prime minister such a warning in 2023.