Former Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer denied that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a planned move by Yahya Sinwar just a week and a half before the October 7 massacre, saying at the MEAD conference in Washington that no such call took place.
“If there had been a call, I would have been on it, because one of the tasks assigned to me was expanding the Abraham Accords and strengthening the partnership with the United Arab Emirates,” Dermer said on Wednesday.
He added that in all conversations between the prime minister and Mohammed bin Zayed “I was either involved in the details or was on the line during the conversation itself,” and stressed: “That call did not take place.”
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UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photos: AP, Shalev Shalom )
According to Dermer, “It is not even a question of the content of the call. I do not think there was a call at all. And certainly that content was not part of it.”
Dermer added: “I do not know where they got this story from. I think the Emiratis were clear that it did not happen. We are clear that it did not happen. So it is essentially fiction. Just a made-up story.”
However, despite Dermer’s claim that the UAE had clearly said the event did not happen, that is not quite the case. The Israeli government in fact pressed the UAE to issue an official clarification denying the report, but officials in the Emirates preferred not to get drawn into the matter and issued an official statement saying they would not comment on the details.
“The Foreign Ministry confirms that the UAE government does not comment on media reports or speculation regarding conversations,” the official statement said. “Since October 7, the UAE’s efforts have focused on de-escalation, advancing regional stability and reducing violence.”
Ron Dermer speaks onstage Wednesday at the MEAD conference in Washington
(Photo: Ben Kalmer)
The UAE Foreign Ministry further said that since ties with Israel were established more than five years ago, “government entities in both countries have maintained open and direct channels of communication. When necessary, all relevant intelligence is shared and continues to be shared between the parties concerned.”
Meanwhile, Likud claimed Tuesday evening that the report about the warning allegedly conveyed to Netanyahu amounted to “foreign interference in the elections.”
In a party statement, Likud said that “behind the false report is senior Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan, who is based in the Emirates. He wants to bring down the right-wing government because he dreams of taking control of the Gaza Strip.”
Dahlan’s faction in Fatah responded: “An incitement campaign, in a blatant attempt to drag Dahlan’s name into the election battle and evade the serious questions Netanyahu faces regarding his responsibility for the failures of October 7. Dahlan has never been a party to Israel’s internal disputes and has no interest in who rules there. Netanyahu and Likud will not determine the future of the Gaza Strip.”