Netanyahu moves to sue Haaretz over disputed pre-October 7 warning

Prime minister rejects reported Emirati warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed lawyers to begin defamation proceedings against Haaretz and two journalists after the newspaper reported that the United Arab Emirates warned him shortly before the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Netanyahu’s office denied that any warning was delivered and said records showed no call with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed during the period described.

The disputed report, based on research for a new book, alleges that Mohammed bin Zayed contacted Netanyahu roughly 10 days before the attack. According to the published account, the Emirati leadership had received information that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation that could destabilise the region. Haaretz reported that intelligence channels and Netanyahu were alerted but did not act on it.

Claims remain contested

Netanyahu says the story is fabricated and politically motivated. His office stated that officials reviewed the prime minister’s call records and found no contact matching the allegation. The UAE declined to verify the reported conversation, saying it does not comment on media accounts or speculation about exchanges between leaders. That leaves the central historical claim unresolved rather than independently confirmed.

The threatened lawsuit is nevertheless a concrete new development because it creates a potential forum in which the newspaper’s sourcing and the government’s records may face formal scrutiny. It also raises questions about whether sensitive diplomatic or intelligence evidence could be introduced in court, withheld for national-security reasons or tested through preliminary legal proceedings before any full trial.

Accountability enters the election campaign

The controversy arrives ahead of Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election. Netanyahu has resisted demands for a state commission of inquiry into the security and political failures preceding October 7. His challengers argue that an independent investigation is required, while the prime minister has emphasised wartime decisions and reconstruction in communities attacked in 2023. The lawsuit may therefore amplify rather than contain the dispute.

Three questions now matter: whether a complaint is formally filed, what evidence Haaretz produces in response, and whether Israeli institutions undertake a broader inquiry capable of assessing pre-attack intelligence. Until then, the reported Emirati warning should be treated as an allegation denied by Netanyahu, not an established fact. The verified development is his decision to pursue legal action and the competing public accounts surrounding it.