Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday sent a warning letter ahead of a libel suit against Haaretz and journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval over a report he received a warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed about a major Hamas operation before the October 7 attack.
Haaretz said in response that it stands by its reporting.
In a post on X, Netanyahu said his office, the national security council and his military secretary reviewed his call logs and found no evidence such a conversation took place.
"Contrary to the claims, from the beginning of September until October 7, no conversation took place between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates," Netanyahu said.
The Emirati government does not comment on reports regarding conversations between leaders, the UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
"UAE and Israeli government entities have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago," the ministry said.
On Tuesday, Haaretz reported that bin Zayed phoned Netanyahu a week and a half before October 7, 2023, from the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi and spoke with him for 45 minutes.
According to the report, a representative from the Emirati embassy would come to the prime minister's bureau, bringing a special phone device that ensured the confidentiality of the call.
In his statement, Netanyahu confirmed the practice but denied the conversation took place.
"There is no possibility of entering the Prime Minister's Office without documentation and recording by the security forces at the facility," he said.
Netanyahu also denied reports Egypt's intelligence chief, Gen. Abbas Kamel, warned him of an imminent Hamas operation, saying it was "a claim that was already debunked at the beginning of the war."
Details of Kamel's conversation with Netanyahu were first reported by Smadar Perry in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily on October 9, 2023.
"All this proves that we are dealing with a malicious fabrication with clear political timing," Netanyahu wrote, saying the report was part of the "left's election campaign."
Netanyahu said the report was a distraction, blaming former security chiefs Ronen Bar and Herzl Halevi for not informing him in time, despite receiving indications "many hours before the start of the attack."
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu did not inform the security establishment of his conversation with bin Zayed.
"If we had known about the warnings, there's a chance it would have given more weight to the first message we received from Sinwar," a senior Shin Bet official told Haaretz, referring to threats conveyed by Hamas' leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar to the Shin Bet through intermediaries.
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