DOMINANT ANGLE
Helsinki sees the secret visit by Netanyahu to the Emirates as proof of several distinct warnings, from the Emirates and Egypt, that went unheeded before October 7, 2023.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to Haaretz, Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan warned Netanyahu ten and a half days before the October 7, 2023 attack that Hamas was preparing a large-scale operation, a warning not passed on to intelligence services or the Israeli army
- 02
The Wall Street Journal, cited by MTV Uutiset, reports that the former head of Egyptian intelligence had warned Netanyahu a few days before the attack, a third warning of this kind from Egypt
- 03
Hamas attacked ten days after the Emirati warning, killing around 1200 Israelis, including over 800 civilians, and taking 251 hostages
ANALYSIS
Helsinki, September 29, 2026. The secret visit of Benyamin Netanyahu to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, September 27, is occupying the Finnish press from the angle of the missed intelligence before October 7, 2023. According to sources cited by the AP agency and reported by YLE Uutiset, the Israeli Prime Minister made an exceptional trip to Abu Dhabi to ask the Emirati president to publicly deny the information that he had warned him in advance of the Hamas attack. The Israeli channel Channel 12, also cited, reports that Netanyahu's office had repeatedly requested a meeting with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyane to obtain this denial. According to Channel 12, Abu Dhabi considered the matter to be part of Israel's internal politics and did not want to get involved, especially before the elections scheduled for October 27.
The daily Haaretz had revealed at the beginning of September that the Emirati president had warned Netanyahu, ten and a half days before the October 2023 massacre, that Hamas was preparing a large-scale operation. According to Haaretz, this warning was not transmitted to the intelligence services or the Israeli army. MTV Uutiset adds that Netanyahu had reacted "fairly calmly" to the Emirati president's warning about Yahya Sinwar's preparations. The former head of Egyptian intelligence had also warned Netanyahu, just a few days before the attack; according to the Wall Street Journal, cited by MTV, it was the third Egyptian warning of this type.
Netanyahu's office denies having been warned of the attack and confirmed the visit on Monday, citing discussions on bilateral relations and regional issues. The Emirates had already confirmed the meeting. Ten days after this warning, Hamas attacked, killing around 1,200 Israelis, including more than 800 civilians, and taking 251 hostages, YLE recalls.
For the Finnish press, the accumulation of these distinct warnings, Emirati and Egyptian, raises more questions about the Israeli intelligence command chain before the attack than about regional diplomacy. The coincidence with the electoral calendar of October 27, noted by Channel 12, adds an internal dimension to a file presented here primarily as a security failure.
