Israel's Netanyahu to sue newspaper over claim UAE warned him of 7 October attack
The paper said it stood by its reporting, after publishing extracts from a book where the claim appears.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told lawyers to begin defamation proceedings against an Israeli newspaper over reports that the leader of the United Arab Emirates warned him that Hamas was planning an operation just days before the 7 October 2023 attacks.
According to book extracts published by Haaretz, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had a phone call with Netanyahu that September.
The report said Netanyahu was warned that the then-Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major operation.
"To his surprise however, the prime minister reacted with relative calm," Haaretz reported. "Netanyahu said that, in his assessment, Hamas intended to operate in the West Bank area, and he reassured bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario."