Netanyahu Meets UAE President in Rare Abu Dhabi Visit Amid Regional Tensions

World

MDH BAPPY

September 30, 2026
12:15 am

Netanyahu Meets UAE President in Rare Abu Dhabi Visit Amid Regional Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, with both sides saying talks focused on bilateral ties and regional challenges.

ABU DHABI: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the UAE’s state news agency WAM and Netanyahu’s office confirmed Monday. The two sides said the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral ties and addressing regional challenges.

An Israeli source familiar with the meeting told CNN that discussions focused heavily on Iran, where Israel and the UAE have expanded security cooperation amid the ongoing conflict.

WAM said the leaders discussed UAE-Israel relations and ways to strengthen and develop them. Netanyahu’s office said the talks also addressed regional challenges.

Netanyahu was accompanied by his wife, National Security Council chief, Mossad chief, military secretary and political adviser, his office said.

The rare visit comes a month before Israel’s Oct. 27 election and amid renewed controversy over reports that Sheikh Mohamed warned Netanyahu of a possible major Hamas operation days before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Haaretz and The New York Times have reported on the alleged warning, while The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal have separately reported on warnings from Egyptian officials about the situation in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office has repeatedly denied receiving such warnings and called the reports false. The UAE has declined to comment specifically on reported conversations between its leaders and Netanyahu, while saying relevant intelligence has been shared between the two countries when necessary.

Neither Israel nor the UAE referred to the reported Oct. 7 warning in their statements on Monday.

Netanyahu’s Likud party later accused UAE-based Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan of “foreign interference” in Israel’s election, without providing evidence. Opposition figures have cited the reported warnings in their criticism of Netanyahu’s handling of events before the Oct. 7 attack.

The latest visit also follows conflicting accounts over an earlier reported Netanyahu trip to the UAE. Netanyahu’s office said in May that he had secretly visited the country in March, but the UAE at the time rejected the claim as unfounded.

Netanyahu has not previously made a publicly acknowledged official visit to the UAE.