Haaretz has a scoop today: according to their investigations at Netanyahu was called by UAE's president bin Zayed a week and a half before 7th of October 2023 with a harsh warning for about 45 minutes.
n that conversation, bin Zayed warned that Hamas' leader in Gaza,
Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major operation against Israel. Bin Zayed expressed concern that the event in question would not only lead to bloodshed but also destabilize the entire region and undermine the
Abraham Accords.
Three foreign senior sources are familiar with the contents of the conversation, the existence of which is revealed here for the first time. Its disclosure is the result of extensive research based on dozens of sources in Israel and worldwide, including very senior officials, as well as recordings, internal documents and correspondence. The research was conducted for the new book "Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment" (Kinneret Zmora Publishing, in Hebrew) by the authors of this article.
"The emir explained that, in his assessment, Sinwar was preparing for a major event," the adviser says. "He told Netanyahu that Israel should be ready. Concurrently, he recommended trying to find an economic solution for the Strip and calming the West Bank to prevent escalation."
Bin Zayed urged Netanyahu to take the situation seriously. To his surprise, however, the prime minister reacted with relative calm. Netanyahu said that, in his assessment, Hamas intended to operate in the West Bank area, and he reassured bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario.
The Emirati ruler would later recount the conversation he had with Netanyahu and the warning he also relayed to CIA Director William J. Burns. Bin Zayed shared with Burns the sense he tried to convey to Netanyahu that "something there is about to explode," and told him that the Israeli prime minister believed the volatile area was, in fact, the West Bank.
"The emir hoped that despite his reserved response, Netanyahu would take the message seriously and take action," the adviser says. None of them imagined that the prime minister would hear the message but wouldn't brief the heads of the defense establishment. The head of the Shin Bet, the head of the Mossad, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff – none of them knew about bin Zayed's warning.
Then Netanyahu did - nothing. He informed nobody about it. The rest is history.
However Netanyahu stated today that this report is all just lies, and he will sue Haaretz for defamation.
