Netanyahu alleges foreign interference in Israel election campaign amid dispute over UAE warning report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the country is facing what he called "blatant foreign interference" as the general election approaches in October. The comments came amid a renewed political dispute over reporting that the United Arab Emirates warned him before the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. Netanyahu and his Likud party have linked the controversy to the election campaign, while opposition figures have used it to attack his record.

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The row centres on a report by Haaretz, which said excerpts from a book by two of its reporters indicated that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke directly with Netanyahu almost 10 days before the attack and warned that the Islamist movement was preparing a major operation. The newspaper said Netanyahu, who is campaigning for the legislative election on 27 October, "did nothing" after the alleged warning. Netanyahu's office rejected the claims as "pure lies" and said he did not receive any warning from the UAE before 7 October.

In its statement, the prime minister's office said the published information was false and denied that Netanyahu had spoken with the UAE president at that time. It added, however, that the two countries may have exchanged messages through intelligence channels. The UAE foreign ministry said it had "no comment" on the reporting.

The dispute has added another layer to the political fallout from the 7 October attack, which remains the deadliest day in Israel's history, with 1,221 deaths cited in the reporting. The timing matters because the allegations are being aired during an active election campaign, when questions about security failures and responsibility for the attack are already central to political debate. Netanyahu is seeking to defend his leadership while facing criticism from rivals who say he ignored warnings before the assault.

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The issue also touches on Israel's relations with the UAE, one of the Arab states that normalised ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, making any suggestion of pre-attack intelligence contact politically sensitive. Opposition voices quickly seized on the report. Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander and one of Netanyahu's main rivals, accused the prime minister of evading responsibility and using "pathetic" excuses, including claims that he was not woken early enough on the morning of the attack.

Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister and also a candidate, said Netanyahu bore "personal and direct responsibility" for the deaths that day and should not remain in office. The comments show how the reporting has become part of a wider struggle over accountability, leadership and public trust. What remains unclear is whether any direct warning was actually passed to Netanyahu, and if so, through which channel.

The prime minister's office has left open the possibility of intelligence-channel exchanges, but has denied any formal warning from Abu Dhabi. The UAE has not addressed the substance of the report, and no independent confirmation of the alleged conversation has been provided. The issue is likely to remain a live campaign theme as Israel moves closer to the 27 October vote.

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