Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a defamation lawsuit against the Israeli newspaper Ha Press after it reported that the United Arab Emirates warned him of a planned Hamas attack on 7 October.
The story appears in a book by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, "Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment," which claims that a UAE official met with Netanyahu in September 2023 to convey that Hamas front‑man Yahya Sinwar had secretly plotted a large‑scale offensive described by him as an "earthquake." The alleged phone call was supposedly confidential and conducted in a special secured line.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement demanding that the newspaper be held accountable for what it calls a "sinister plot" that misrepresents the facts. It asserts that no warning was ever received from the UAE before the attacks began.
Ha Press, which has historically criticised the prime minister, has defended its reporting. In a response to the lawsuit, the paper argued that the allegations are based on "in‑depth investigative journalism" and that silencing them would be a violation of press freedom. The source of the allegations is described as a mix of foreign senior sources and a Palestinian adviser to Sheikh Mohammed.
The claim that the UAE warned Netanyahu comes at a time of heightened political scrutiny. Israeli general elections are scheduled for October 27, widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. Opposition figures—including Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan—have called for a full investigation into the events of 7 October and accused the prime minister of being unfit to govern.
The UAE, while not directly addressing the alleged conversation, issued a statement emphasising its efforts to de‑escalate post‑attack tensions and maintain open lines of communication with Israel. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that all relevant intelligence has been shared between the two countries when necessary.
The defamation case is expected to unfold before Israel’s court system, with Ha Press preparing a legal response to defend its investigative rights. The lawsuit has attracted international attention, signalling the fraught intersection of media, politics and security in the Middle East.
