Netanyahu meets Emirati leader in a secret weekend trip to Abu Dhabi, and other Mideast developments

Benjamin Netanyahu traveled secretly to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend to ask its leader to deny reports that he had warned the Israeli prime minister about a looming Hamas threat ahead of the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

The meeting between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place on Sunday, two people who were briefed on the Israeli leader's trip confirmed on Monday.

Meanwhile, the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc is applying for observer status to a Saudi-led maritime defense coalition formed to protect the kingdom's energy exports. The EU already has six vessels deployed to the Red Sea to protect shipping.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Full coverage is available here.

Netanyahu made a secret visit to the UAE

The Israeli prime minister held a meeting with the UAE’s president on Sunday, according to two people who were briefed on Netanyahu's trip, which was first reported by Israel’s Channel 12 TV station.

One person familiar with the matter said the talks focused on a report published by the Israeli daily Haaretz earlier this month that said the Emirati leader had delivered a warning to Netanyahu about a looming attack by Hamas just ahead of its Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed to deny the report, according to the person who purported to have first-hand information about the meeting. Netanyahu’s office had previously denied the Haaretz report.

The person, along with a regional official briefed on the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the secret trip.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports about the meeting. But it said it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares “all relevant intelligence.”

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.

—By Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo

EU applies for observer status in a Saudi mission to protect the Red Sea

The European Union is applying for “observer status” in a new multinational maritime defense coalition led by Saudi Arabia and formed to protect the kingdom’s energy exports.

The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas made the announcement on Monday, ahead of a meeting in Brussels of defense and foreign affairs ministers. The energy-hungry EU is facing record energy prices due to the war in Iran.

Kallas said she will ask the assembled ministers to expand the bloc’s own small naval force in the Red Sea dubbed ASPIDES to help escort cargo vessels through the key strategic chokepoint of the Bab el-Mandeb strait against attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Kallas repeated that the “need is bigger than it’s ever been” for more ships than the six currently deployed under ASPIDES.

It’s unclear what observer status in the Saudi-led coalition would mean operationally for either the EU or ASPIDES.

Israel reprimands Spain over youth minister's controversial remarks

Israel summoned the Spanish Embassy’s chargé d’affaires over remarks by Spain's youth minister who declared the country's public support for a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” — a slogan that implies a call for the elimination of the Israeli state.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Monday that Spanish Youth Minister Sira Rego’s remarks were “part of a systematic anti-Israel policy pursued by the Spanish government” and its leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The ministry said Rego had opted not to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led militant attacks on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Rego was barred from entering Israel in Sept. 2025.

The top Dutch diplomat regrets Israel's decision to expel the country's diplomats

The Dutch foreign minister says he “deeply regrets this unnecessary decision” after Israel announced it was expelling Dutch diplomats in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, within a week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the decision was in response to a Dutch ban that went into effect Sept. 22 on the “import, purchase and sale of goods” originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Netherlands and many in the international community consider such goods illegal.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said in a statement Monday that the temporary import ban wasn’t directed against Israel but that it “stems from an obligation under international law not to contribute to an unlawful situation — namely, the illegal settlements.”

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.