Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his legal team to initiate defamation proceedings against the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The move follows the publication of excerpts from an upcoming book, Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment, which claims that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned Netanyahu of a major impending operation by Hamas just days before the 7 October 2023 attacks.

According to the report, which cites three foreign senior sources and a Palestinian adviser, the UAE leader held a confidential phone call with Netanyahu in late September 2023. The publication alleges that Sheikh Mohammed warned the Prime Minister that then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was planning an "earthquake"-level operation. The report further claims that Netanyahu reacted with relative calm, suggesting he believed Hamas intended to focus its efforts on the West Bank rather than Gaza.

The Prime Minister’s office has categorically denied these allegations, labeling the report a "sinister plot" and asserting that no such warning was ever received from the UAE. Netanyahu’s Likud Party characterized the publication as "blatant foreign interference" in the lead-up to the upcoming general elections, which are scheduled for 27 October.

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Haaretz has defended its reporting, stating that the information was the result of extensive research involving numerous documents and sources. Legal representatives for the newspaper argued that the lawsuit is an attempt to "silence journalistic criticism" regarding a matter of significant public interest. Meanwhile, four prominent Israeli opposition leaders have issued a joint statement calling for an official investigation into the claims, arguing that the government is unfit to remain in office.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not specifically confirm or deny the alleged conversation but noted that the two nations have maintained "open and direct lines of communication" and share intelligence when necessary.

Source: BBC News