AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Israeli media report a new tension between the United Arab Emirates and the Israeli regime following the disclosure of Benjamin Netanyahu's secret trip to Abu Dhabi. According to Hebrew-language sources, this tension has led to the transmission of a sharply worded protest message from the UAE to Tel Aviv.
Israeli i24 Network, citing an informed source, reported that Emirati officials conveyed their strong displeasure to the Israeli side after Netanyahu's trip became public. According to the report, Abu Dhabi emphasized in its message that the repeated leakage of confidential information from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in recent years has been one of the main reasons for the reduced level of engagement with Netanyahu.
This comes as the UAE quickly denied statements issued by Israeli officials and categorically rejected any visits by regime officials to its territory in recent weeks. However, Hebrew-language media outlets have added to the intensity of the media controversy by publishing reports of another visit by the head of the Israeli army's Joint Chiefs of Staff to Abu Dhabi in recent days.
The crisis took on new dimensions when the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced that Benjamin Netanyahu had made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates during the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The publication of this news once again revealed the political sensitivities inherent in the relations between the two sides—relations that, despite formal normalization, continue to be accompanied by extensive security and regional considerations.
In this regard, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Zayed, the head of the UAE, actually took place on March 26 (April 6 Iranian calendar), and that the Israeli Prime Minister entered the UAE accompanied by senior security officials.
Flight tracking data also shows that on the same day, two private planes flew from Tel Aviv to the city of Al Ain in the UAE and returned to the occupied territories about six hours later. Furthermore, Ziv Agmon, a former spokesperson for Netanyahu, confirmed his presence on that flight and described the reception in Abu Dhabi as "royal."
The Wall Street Journal emphasized in its report that the public disclosure of this secret trip by Netanyahu and its swift denial by Abu Dhabi indicate the extreme political sensitivity surrounding relations between the two sides. According to the newspaper, the UAE would likely have preferred that the coordination and meetings continue away from media attention, and the disclosure of this trip during a sensitive regional situation has placed Abu Dhabi in a difficult position.
According to the report, the publication of the news of this meeting, coinciding with the atmosphere surrounding the ceasefire and regional developments, has not only put pressure on the UAE vis-à-vis Arab and regional public opinion, but has also once again revealed the gap between the two sides' shared security needs and Abu Dhabi's political and media considerations.
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