On 13 May, Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a brief yet dramatic statement saying that, during the war with Iran, the Israeli prime minister had "secretly visited" the United Arab Emirates and met President Mohammed bin Zayed in what it described as a "historic breakthrough".
Hours later, the UAE foreign ministry pushed back with unusual sharpness, calling the report "entirely unfounded" and reminding the world that Emirati-Israeli relations operate openly under the 2020 Abraham Accords. The Emiratis were reportedly furious over the disclosure.
Israeli outlets quickly filled in the blanks. The Times of Israel, which is close to Netanyahu, published specific details on the secret trip to further embarrass Abu Dhabi and deliberately undermine its denial.
The outlet said the meeting took place on 26 March in the oasis city of Al-Ain, near the Oman border and lasted several hours, adding that "MBZ drove Netanyahu in his personal car from the plane to the palace".
Some platforms claimed that flight-tracking data showed two Israeli-linked Bombardier business jets flying from Tel Aviv to Al-Ain that day. Netanyahu's former chief of staff Ziv Agmon wrote openly on Facebook that he had accompanied his boss, that the visit was "top secret until today" and that Sheikh Mohammed personally drove Netanyahu from the airport to the palace.
