Netanyahu Threatens Legal Action Over Report of UAE Warning Before October 7 Attacks
6 sources across 6 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- France 24
- Der Spiegel
- Haaretz
- Al Jazeera
- El Pais
- Al-Monitor
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans to sue the newspaper Haaretz and its authors following a report claiming that the President of the United Arab Emirates warned him of a planned Hamas attack ten days before October 7, 2023. According to the Haaretz report, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed informed Netanyahu of a threat from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who reportedly warned of a huge surprise and an earthquake. The report further asserts that the UAE passed this intelligence to the Shin Bet agency, which dismissed the threat, and that Netanyahu also brushed aside the warning when it was raised directly with him.
Netanyahu has denied the claims, calling the report fabricated, false, and politically motivated. He stated that the National Security Council and the Military Secretary reviewed his call logs for the period in question and found no trace of such a conversation. Netanyahu also alleged that the false report was driven by Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan, a claim that Dahlan's representatives have rejected. The UAE government declined to comment, stating it does not comment on media speculation regarding conversations between leaders.
The revelation has intensified political debate in Israel as the country approaches legislative elections in October. Opposition members have used the report to call for a state commission of inquiry into the Prime Minister's responsibilities. While some sources describe the report as a gift to the opposition, others note that the trauma of the October 7 massacre has become the dividing line of the election campaign.
How each side framed it
- Left
- This outlet framed the report as evidence that a state inquiry into Netanyahu's responsibility is vital.
- Centre-left
- This outlet provided detailed accounts of the alleged warning while also noting the high Palestinian death toll in the subsequent war.
- Centre
- These outlets presented the event as a central point of contention in the upcoming legislative campaign.
Sources
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Netanyahu to sue Haaretz over claims UAE warned him before October 7 attack
- Centre Al-Monitor: Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Israel: Haaretz report on warnings before October 7, 2023, what did Benjamin Netanyahu know?
- Centre-left El Pais: Netanyahu's political responsibility in the Hamas attacks centers the pre electoral debate in Israel
- Centre France 24: Legislatives in Israel: "October 7 establishes itself as the dividing line of the campaign"
- Centre France 24: B. Netanyahu: a flawless resilience?
- Left Haaretz: UAE leader's pre-October 7 warning to Netanyahu makes a state inquiry even more vital
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.