Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu made no mention of an alleged warning from United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed that Hamas was preparing an attack when he convened Israel’s senior security officials just six days before the October 7, 2023, massacre, according to a new report by The New York Times. The existence and substance of the purported warning remain disputed, with Netanyahu and Emirati officials rejecting key elements of the account.

The Times report provided additional details surrounding an earlier Haaretz investigation alleging that Sheikh Mohammed personally contacted Netanyahu in late September 2023 to warn him that Hamas was contemplating a major attack against Israel.

Two people cited by The Times said they had either spoken directly with Sheikh Mohammed about the matter or were briefed by someone who took part in the conversation between the Emirati and Israeli leaders.

According to the account, Sheikh Mohammed contacted Netanyahu in late September after receiving information indicating that Hamas was preparing an attack. One source said the intelligence did not make clear whether Hamas was contemplating a major rocket barrage or an attempt to invade Israel on the ground.

It also remains unclear where the Emirati leader obtained the information and what other issues may have been discussed during the alleged conversation. Separate reporting this week said UAE intelligence had warned Israel’s Shin Bet in September 2023 of possible Hamas violence before the end of that month.

Whatever information may have been received, The Times reported that it apparently did not reach Israel’s top security officials. Five former senior Israeli officials told the newspaper that they were unaware of such a warning having reached the upper levels of the Israeli security establishment.

The Times also reviewed minutes of a security meeting Netanyahu convened on October 1, 2023 — less than a week before the Hamas invasion and massacre — to discuss the situation in Gaza. According to the newspaper, the minutes contain no reference to any warning from Sheikh Mohammed.

Instead, the minutes reportedly show Netanyahu emphasizing the importance of maintaining calm in Gaza.

Israeli officials at the meeting also discussed the possibility of carrying out strikes against senior Hamas figures who were responsible for attacks against Israelis in Judea and Samaria, according to the report.

The Times said Netanyahu opposed such a move at the time, expressing concern that an Israeli military operation in Gaza could jeopardize the emerging effort to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which he believed was approaching a breakthrough.

The latest report follows weeks of controversy over the original Haaretz account. Netanyahu has emphatically denied that Sheikh Mohammed personally warned him of an impending Hamas attack and has said he intends to sue Haaretz over its reporting. His office has maintained that any relevant intelligence originating in the UAE would have been handled through established intelligence channels.

The UAE Foreign Ministry initially declined to address the substance of the reports, saying that it does not comment on media accounts or speculation regarding conversations between national leaders. It said the UAE and Israel maintained direct lines of communication and that relevant intelligence was transmitted between the two countries.

An Emirati official subsequently rejected the claim that intelligence or a warning about an impending Hamas attack had been conveyed directly between Sheikh Mohammed and Netanyahu, leaving conflicting accounts over whether such a conversation occurred and, if it did, precisely what was said.

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment from The Times for its latest report.

The newspaper reported another potentially significant detail: Sheikh Mohammed allegedly discussed the September episode afterward with William Burns, who was serving at the time as director of the CIA.

According to a person familiar with that conversation, the Emirati president told Burns that he had warned Netanyahu about a looming threat of Hamas violence in either Judea and Samaria or the Gaza Strip.

The alleged phone call also does not appear in the internal investigations conducted into the Israeli security failures surrounding October 7, according to the five former senior Israeli officials interviewed by The Times. Those officials participated in the investigations, significant portions of which have not been made public.

{Matzav.com}