Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed his meeting\nwith United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al\nNahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (27\/09). Both governments confirmed the\nmeeting on Monday evening (28\/09).<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth sides discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel,\nas well as ways to strengthen and develop them,\u201d stated the UAE\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister\u2019s office in Tel Aviv expressed a similar\nsentiment, asserting that Netanyahu\u2019s visit \u201cfocused on strengthening\nrelations between the two nations and regional challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
The secret visit took place several weeks after surprising reports\nfrom Israeli media suggested that the UAE President had warned Netanyahu\nregarding the threat of Hamas attacks before the deadly assault on\nIsrael on 7 October 2023. It was alleged that Netanyahu failed to pass\nthese warnings to Israeli security agencies.<\/p>\n
Israeli television station Channel 12 reported on Monday (28\/09) that\nthe purpose of Netanyahu\u2019s visit was to request that Sheikh Mohamed deny\nhaving ever issued such a warning. Netanyahu\u2019s office has denied that\nthe Prime Minister made such a request. A similar denial was issued\nregarding the initial reports of the warning from the UAE.<\/p>\n
Israeli Security Agency Files Complaint Against Channel\n12<\/strong><\/p>\n Before Netanyahu\u2019s visit was confirmed, Israel\u2019s domestic security\nagency, Shin Bet, filed a complaint against Channel 12 on Monday\n(28\/09). The media outlet was accused of violating censorship\nregulations by reporting on the visit before Netanyahu had returned to\nIsrael.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, Shin Bet submitted a complaint to the Head of Military\nCensorship and demanded that Channel 12 be processed with the utmost\nseverity in accordance with applicable law, following a serious\nviolation of censorship rules,\u201d stated Netanyahu\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The statement noted that the Channel 12 report was published while\nthe Prime Minister\u2019s plane was still outside Israeli airspace, thereby\n\u201cendangering the lives of the Prime Minister and his wife, as well as\nthe delegation, which included the head of the Mossad intelligence\nagency and other high-ranking security officials.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel-UAE Diplomatic Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n Sheikh Mohamed\u2019s decision to host Netanyahu is a significant\ndevelopment, particularly as the Israeli leader is viewed by many in the\nMiddle East as a primary driver of the war in Gaza. The conflict has\nresulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Palestinians, many of whom were\ncivilians.<\/p>\n This meeting also marks the first time the UAE has officially\nacknowledged a meeting between the two leaders, after previously denying\nreports of Netanyahu\u2019s visit to the country in May.<\/p>\n The UAE is one of the few Arab nations to maintain official\ndiplomatic relations with Israel. These ties were established after the\nUAE signed the Abraham Accords during the first administration of US\nPresident Donald Trump in 2020.<\/p>\n The UAE condemned the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 as a\n\u201cserious and grave escalation\u201d and expressed \u201cshock\u201d at reports of\nIsraeli citizens being taken hostage. However, relations between the two\nnations have become strained due to the Israeli war in Gaza, with the\nUAE condemning \u201congoing Israeli violations\u201d in Palestinian\nterritories.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Israel reportedly deployed the Iron Dome air defence\nsystem to the UAE, along with personnel to operate it, during the\nconflict with Iran, when the Gulf nation faced retaliatory strikes from\nTehran.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/netanyahu-denies-asking-uae-president-to-retract-hamas-warning-1790683196",
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