In Israel, Dahlan denied involvement in publication about warning to Netanyahu
Mohammed Dahlan, leader of the Fatah Democratic Reform faction, denied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusations of involvement in a Haaretz publication about an allegedly ignored warning from the United Arab Emirates before the October 7 attack. Dimitri Diliani, a spokesperson for the faction, told The Jerusalem Post.
Netanyahu called the Haaretz report false and said that Dahlan, who is based in the UAE, was behind it. The Israeli prime minister also announced his intention to file a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz and the article's author, Shlomi Eldar.
The position of Dahlan's faction
Diliani called Likud's claims that Dahlan interfered in Israeli elections “absurd and misleading.” According to him, Dahlan has not taken part in Israel's internal political conflicts and is focused on the situation of Palestinians.
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The faction's statement says that the accusations are an attempt to draw Dahlan's name into Israel's election campaign and divert attention from questions about the state's and Netanyahu's failures and responsibility in connection with the events of October 7. Diliani also stated that the future of the Gaza Strip should be decided by the Palestinian people, not Likud or Netanyahu.
The UAE's reaction and an expert assessment
The UAE neither confirmed nor denied information that the country's president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had conveyed a warning to Netanyahu. At the same time, Jerusalem Post sources said that then-US President Joe Biden had not been informed about communication from the Emirates that could indicate prior knowledge of the attack.
Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, expressed doubt about Dahlan's involvement in the Haaretz article. In his view, Dahlan would be unlikely to risk the trust he had built with the UAE president. Michael also suggested that Netanyahu's accusations could be part of a campaign to divert attention and emphasize possible external interference in elections.
