US report "lies" Abu Dhabi, confirms Netanyahu's visit to the UAE

Informed US  sources confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Zayed took place on March 26, where the Israeli prime minister was accompanied on his trip by senior security officials.

The American newspaper reported that  flight tracking data showed that two private planes traveled from Tel Aviv to the UAE city of Al Ain and returned six hours later  that day.

Netanyahu's former spokesman, Zev Agmon, confirmed his participation in the trip, describing the reception in Abu Dhabi as "at the level of royalty."

In a statement published earlier, the UAE Foreign Ministry denied  "the validity of what is being circulated about Netanyahu's visit to the country, or the reception of any Israeli military delegation on its territory."

"Netanyahu's announcement of a secret visit to the UAE, and Abu Dhabi's swift denial of its occurrence, revealed a political sensitivity that still surrounds this relationship," the newspaper said,  considering that "this public disparity is rare in the world of high-level diplomacy, and reflects the nature of the complex relationship, as although Israel is considered an important security partner for the UAE, there are delicate political considerations that still govern this relationship."

  The  sensitivity is "particularly embodied in the character of Netanyahu, who is seen by many governments in the region as a factor of instability, in the wake of the wars in Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria, as well as the targeting of Hamas leaders inside Qatar."

 The newspaper quoted experts as saying, "The relationship between Israel and the UAE is historically the best between Israel and any Arab country, but it is nevertheless not without borders, in light of the political complexities surrounding it."

The experts added that "Abu Dhabi may have preferred to keep the meeting secret and continue to coordinate away from the limelight, and Israel's announcement of it caused embarrassment to the UAE, which does not want to politicize the relationship or use it in an internal Israeli context."

They pointed out that "the timing of the announcement of the visit was sensitive, in light of the UAE's continued exposure to attacks by Iranian drones despite a fragile ceasefire that came into effect in April."

Israel talks about secret visit by chief of staff to UAE

The Israel Broadcasting Corporation claimed on Friday that the Chief of Staff of the Israeli occupation army, Eyal Zamir, visited the UAE "secretly" during the war on Iran.

The official broadcaster said on Friday: "Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited the UAE during the war with Iran, where he met with senior Emirati officials, including UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as local security officials."

It claimed that the visit was part of "a series of visits by high-ranking Israeli officials to the UAE during the period of the war with Iran."

Mossad chief secretly visits Abu Dhabi

Earlier, Israeli media claimed that Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet chief David Zinni secretly visited the UAE, without specifying the date of the visits.

The UAE did not comment on these new allegations, while on Wednesday, according to a statement from its Foreign Ministry, it confirmed that "its relations with Israel are public, established within the framework of the well-known Abraham Accords announced in 2020, and are not based on secrecy or hidden arrangements."

"Any allegations of unannounced visits or arrangements are baseless unless they are issued by the competent official authorities in the UAE," it said, calling for "not to circulate undocumented information or use it to create political impressions."

In mid-September 2020, Tel Aviv, the UAE, and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington to normalize relations under the auspices of the United States.