Netanyahu to sue Haaretz over report claiming he received Oct. 7 warning

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preparing to file a defamation lawsuit against the left-wing newspaper Haaretz, after the Hebrew daily published reports claiming Netanyahu was warned by the UAE’s president about the Hamas attack of October 2023.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the left-wing Hebrew daily Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar over a report alleging that he received a direct warning from the president of the United Arab Emirates about a major Hamas operation shortly before the October 7, 2023 invasion.

Netanyahu on Wednesday issued a detailed denial of the report, saying checks of his telephone records and security logs showed that no conversation with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place during the period described by Haaretz.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu had instructed his attorneys to sue Haaretz, Eldar and additional parties over what it called a “false accusation against the prime minister.”

“From the beginning of September until October 7, there was no conversation” between Netanyahu and bin Zayed, the statement said.

Haaretz reported Tuesday that roughly 10 days before the Hamas assault, bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu for about 45 minutes and warned him that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel.

The report said the Emirati leader warned that an attack could cause significant bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

According to the investigation, Netanyahu reacted calmly, told bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario and suggested that Hamas was more likely to act in Judea and Samaria, rather than Gaza.

The report further alleged that Netanyahu did not pass the warning to Israel’s senior security officials.

The investigation was based on research for the forthcoming book Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment, by Eldar and journalist Ruth Yuval.

The journalists said their investigation drew on dozens of sources in Israel and abroad, including senior officials, as well as recordings, documents and internal correspondence.

Netanyahu said Wednesday that officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and military secretariat reviewed his call records and found no evidence of the alleged conversation.

His office also said calls between Netanyahu and the Emirati president were conducted through a special encrypted device brought to the Prime Minister’s Office by an Emirati representative.

“All of these conversations are documented,” Netanyahu’s statement said.

The prime minister said officials also examined records of entries into his office during the relevant period and found no record of an Emirati representative arriving with the device. He stated that the security procedures at the facility made an undocumented visit impossible.

The UAE has so far declined to publicly confirm or deny the alleged conversation. Its Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on media reports concerning conversations between leaders, while adding that Israel and the UAE have maintained direct communications since establishing diplomatic relations and that relevant intelligence is exchanged when necessary.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is running against Netanyahu in this fall’s Knesset election, also publicly backed the report, saying he knew “for a fact” that it was true.

Bennett said bin Zayed warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was planning an operation and claimed that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel had separately conveyed a warning about an impending major attack.

The allegations have quickly become an issue in Israel’s election campaign. Opposition figures have argued that the report undermines Netanyahu’s contention that he was not informed about critical warning signs before the assault and have renewed demands for a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7.

Netanyahu rejected that criticism Wednesday and again placed responsibility for the immediate failure to act on senior security officials, specifically former IDF chief Herzi Halevi and former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar.

He said the two had seen warning signs in the hours before the attack and argued that the massacre could have been prevented had security officials mobilized forces and alerted him in time.

Netanyahu also accused Haaretz of publishing the report for political purposes ahead of the election, describing it as part of a campaign by the left against the ruling Likud party.