Indonesia

Jakarta, September 29, 2026. Indonesian media are giving extensive coverage to the secret visit made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, September 27, where he met with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. The two governments only confirmed the trip on Monday, September 28. According to the official Emirati agency WAM, cited by Al Jazeera, the two parties "discussed bilateral relations between the Emirates and Israel and ways to strengthen them." Netanyahu's office, for its part, mentions a discussion focused on "strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges."

CNN Indonesia and Tempo are mainly linking this trip to a previous revelation by Haaretz and the New York Times: Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan allegedly warned Netanyahu by phone, ten days before the October 7, 2023, attack, that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a large-scale operation. According to Channel 12, the real purpose of the trip was to ask Mohammed bin Zayed to deny this call - a request that the prime minister's office denies, just as it had denied the initial report. The Shin Bet internal security service even filed a complaint against Channel 12 for violating military censorship before the official confirmation of the trip.

The Indonesian press is emphasizing the anger that has resulted in Israel: according to CNN Indonesia, protesters gathered on Sunday in Habima Square in Tel Aviv to denounce Netanyahu's supposed inaction. Einav Zangauker, the mother of a former hostage, is quoted: "warning after warning was given, but we always got the same response: I didn't know." Five former high-ranking Israeli officials claim to the New York Times that the Emirati alert never reached the Shin Bet; The Atlantic also mentions Egyptian warnings that were left unheeded.

For Jakarta's media, this case is primarily weighing on the legislative campaign of October 27: Netanyahu, who is trailing in the polls behind former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, is trying to contain a scandal that revives the trauma of October 7. CNN Indonesia also recalls that the prime minister continues to oppose the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into this security breach.