UAE leader reveals secret meeting with Netanyahu in Abu Dhabi: We discussed deepening ties between our countries

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, has spoken publicly for the first time about the secret visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi.

The news was made public by the UAE’s state news agency, marking Abu Dhabi’s first official confirmation of the trip.

According to the agency, during the meeting the two leaders discussed relations between the two countries and ways to further expand and advance them, in line with reports by Israeli media that had previously reported on the event.

In a related development, Israel’s Shin Bet General Security Service has filed a criminal complaint against Channel 12 after the channel broadcast news of Netanyahu’s visit on Sunday without prior notice.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said Shin Bet had submitted an official complaint to the military censor, seeking the prosecution of Channel 12 for serious violations of military censorship regulations.

On Sunday, Channel 12 and other Israeli media reported on Netanyahu’s surprise visit to the UAE capital. In the preceding days, the Haaretz newspaper had reported that the United Arab Emirates informed Netanyahu shortly before the October 7, 2023 attacks that Hamas was preparing to carry out an operation against Israel, but that he had not passed the information on to the security service.

The Israeli prime minister denied receiving any such warning. Israeli media reported that the purpose of the trip to the United Arab Emirates was for Netanyahu to ask Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to deny that he had warned him in 2023.

The publication of the visit “endangered the lives of the prime minister, his wife and members of the delegation, including the director of Mossad,” the prime minister’s office said, as the incident occurred while the prime minister’s aircraft was outside Israeli airspace.