AP added a twist to the reporting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret trip to Abu Dhabi when it asserted that he had made the trip to ask the UAE leader to deny reports that he had warned the Israeli prime minister about a looming Hamas threat ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. One of AP’s sources said the talks had focused on a report published by the Israeli daily Haaretz earlier this month that said the Emirati leader had warned Netanyahu about the looming attack. Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to deny the report, according to a person said to have first-hand information about the meeting. Netanyahu’s office had previously denied the Haaretz report.

Haaretz reported later that Netanyahu’s office confirmed the meeting but denied the AP claim. Describing the AP report as “fake news,” the Prime Minister’s Office insisted that the visit had been designed to “strengthen relations between the two countries and address regional challenges.” The PMO statement added that the meeting had also been attended by the head of the National Security Council, the head of the Mossad, and Netanyahu’s foreign policy advisor and military secretary.