Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he instructed his lawyers to file a defamation suit against the Haaretz newspaper and journalist Shlomi Eldar over what he called a fabricated allegation that he concealed a warning from the UAE president before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Netanyahu posted on X that the claim is an 'absolute lie' and that a review of his call logs and entry records found no evidence of such a call. He also repeated criticism of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and former IDF chief Herzi Halevi for failing to act on advance signs of the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday instructed his lawyers to file a defamation suit against Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar, citing a review of his call logs and office entry records that he says found no evidence of an alleged warning call from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed before the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The move marks the most aggressive legal response yet in a controversy that began with Haaretz's September 2024 investigation.
The Haaretz report, published on Sep. 8, 2024, alleged that bin Zayed initiated a 45-minute call with Netanyahu approximately ten days before the massacre, warning of a "major operation" by Hamas. That same day, the Prime Minister's Office dismissed the report as an "absolute lie," and Netanyahu himself denied any such conversation. Over the course of the day, a senior source in Netanyahu's circle told journalist Mendi Asraf that the last call between the two leaders before Oct. 7 had taken place in early 2023, with a second call a week after the attack. The denials escalated from a brief statement to a formal threat of legal action, culminating in Wednesday's lawsuit announcement.
As The Zioneer reported at the time, UAE sources later declined to confirm or deny the account, saying they would not comment on "personal conversations" of the president. The Haaretz report also drew a response from former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said the report was "true" and claimed that both the UAE and Egyptian intelligence had warned Netanyahu. Netanyahu has consistently denied all such claims and has also used the controversy to renew criticism of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and former IDF chief Herzi Halevi, whom he accuses of failing to act on advance signs of the attack.
The Haaretz report remains unverified by any independent source. UAE officials have neither confirmed nor denied the alleged call. Netanyahu's call logs and entry records have not been made public, and the defamation suit, if it proceeds, may involve discovery that could shed further light on the matter.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake