Netanyahu threatens Haaretz with libel over an Emirati warning call he says never happened
The paper says its full Oct. 7 investigation runs in Friday’s print edition; the Prime Minister’s Office calls the report fabricated and has sent a pre-suit warning letter. Nothing has yet been filed in court.
Haaretz published on Tuesday a report by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval alleging that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed telephoned Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2023 to warn of a “formidable” attack being planned by Yahya Sinwar — roughly ten days before 7 October, in Al Jazeera’s rendering of the claim. On Wednesday the Prime Minister’s Office responded that the story was completely fabricated and that there had been no communication between Netanyahu and the UAE from the start of that September, according to the Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu wrote on X that the report was “fabricated” and “false” and said he had instructed his lawyers to sue Haaretz and the authors; the Times of Israel quotes him calling it “a sinister libel” and reports that he again denied any call with the Emirati president, arguing that a record of one would exist.
What has actually been sent is a warning letter ahead of a libel suit — Israel Hayom reported that Netanyahu instructed his lawyers to file a defamation action against Haaretz, Eldar and additional parties — and nothing retrieved for this brief indicates a writ has been lodged in an Israeli court. Haaretz answered on Thursday that it “won’t hesitate to expose the truth in court” and described the piece as an “in-depth, well-sourced journalistic investigation into a matter of utmost public interest.” The paper’s own framing is that the investigation “will appear in Haaretz’s Friday edition” — meaning the text circulating since Tuesday is a trailer. Its editorial page ran the same day under the flat headline “Netanyahu Knew.” At least 1,195 people were killed in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, by Al Jazeera’s count.
Assessment: Read the evidentiary posture, not the volume. This is a single-outlet claim about a private phone call, denied on the record by its subject, with no documentary support disclosed publicly, no third outlet matching it, and — the most consequential silence — nothing at all from Abu Dhabi. An Emirati denial ends it; an Emirati non-denial changes its character entirely. Netanyahu’s defence is unusually specific and therefore testable: he says a record would exist. Today’s print edition either produces one or it doesn’t. Note also that a defamation threat seven weeks before a 27 October vote costs nothing to make and can be quietly not filed; watch whether a writ ever appears.