Netanyahu Threatens To Sue Haaretz Over Report Of Pre-October 7 Warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to sue Haaretz newspaper over a report alleging that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed warned him about a possible Hamas attack days before October 7, 2023. Netanyahu dismissed the report as false and said there was no record of the alleged phone call. The UAE has declined to comment, while representatives of Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan have rejected Netanyahu’s claim that Dahlan was behind the report. The controversy comes as Netanyahu faces political pressure ahead of Israel’s upcoming elections.

NETANYAHU DENIES BEING WARNED BEFORE OCTOBER 7 ATTACK

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened legal action against Haaretz newspaper over a report claiming he was warned about a possible Hamas attack days before the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Netanyahu described the report as “fabricated” and “false” in a statement posted on X on Wednesday.
He said he had instructed his lawyers to sue Haaretz and the journalists who wrote the report, Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yaval.
The report has added to continuing political and public debate in Israel over whether warning signs were missed before the deadly Hamas-led attacks.

HAARETZ REPORT ALLEGES WARNING FROM UAE PRESIDENT

The Haaretz report, published on Tuesday, claimed that United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, widely known as MBZ, warned Netanyahu about a possible Hamas offensive approximately 10 days before October 7.
According to the newspaper, the warning was based on information allegedly passed through an intermediary by then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The report said Sinwar had referred to preparations for a “huge surprise” and told contacts to warn Israel to expect an “earthquake”.
Haaretz reported that MBZ and his advisers interpreted the comments as a possible indication of a major attack.

REPORT CLAIMS WARNING REACHED ISRAEL

According to the report, the UAE passed the information to Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency.
Haaretz alleged that the security agency dismissed the warning and that MBZ subsequently raised the issue directly with Netanyahu during a telephone conversation.
Netanyahu has strongly rejected that account.
He said his National Security Council and military secretary had examined his telephone records for the period in question and found no evidence of a call with the UAE president.

UAE DECLINES TO CONFIRM OR DENY

The UAE government has not confirmed the alleged conversation.
Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that the government does not comment on media reports or speculation concerning conversations between government leaders.
The lack of confirmation means the central claim about a direct warning from MBZ remains disputed.
Neither the UAE statement nor Netanyahu's denial independently establishes what intelligence may have been shared through other channels before October 7.

OCTOBER 7 ATTACK LED TO DEVASTATING WAR

On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led Palestinian fighters attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza that has caused enormous destruction and a large civilian death toll.
According to Gaza health authorities, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
The failure to prevent the October 7 attack has remained a major issue in Israel, with investigations and political arguments focusing on intelligence failures, military preparedness and decision-making by senior officials.

NETANYAHU SAYS REPORT IS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

Netanyahu has accused Haaretz of publishing the report for political reasons.
He described it as part of what he called a campaign by the political left ahead of Israel's upcoming Knesset elections.
Netanyahu is facing political pressure as he seeks to maintain his position as prime minister, with opposition figures challenging his government over the war and the events leading up to October 7.
The report has therefore emerged at a particularly sensitive time for the Israeli leader.

NETANYAHU LINKS REPORT TO MUHAMMAD DAHLAN

In a separate statement, Netanyahu claimed that Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan was responsible for what he called Haaretz's “false report”.
Dahlan, a former senior Fatah figure, was expelled from the Palestinian movement in 2011 following a power struggle with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He now lives in the UAE.
Dahlan's representatives have rejected Netanyahu's allegation, according to Israeli media.
There is no independent evidence presented publicly to establish Netanyahu's claim that Dahlan was behind the Haaretz report.

HAARETZ REPORT RAISES QUESTIONS OVER INTELLIGENCE FAILURES

The dispute goes beyond the question of whether Netanyahu received a particular telephone warning.
Israel has faced extensive scrutiny over how Hamas was able to plan and carry out the October 7 attacks despite Israel's sophisticated intelligence and security infrastructure.
The question of whether intelligence warnings were received, how they were assessed and whether senior political and military officials acted on them remains central to the wider debate over accountability.
Netanyahu's government has faced calls for greater scrutiny of the decisions made before and during the attack.

LEGAL BATTLE COULD KEEP CONTROVERSY ALIVE

Netanyahu's threatened lawsuit could bring further attention to the claims made by Haaretz and the evidence behind them.
For now, the key allegations remain contested: Haaretz stands by its published account, while Netanyahu says there was no telephone call with MBZ and has threatened legal action against the newspaper and its journalists.
The dispute is likely to remain politically significant as Israel approaches its next parliamentary elections and continues to grapple with the consequences of the October 7 attacks.