Palestinian politician: I relayed Sinwar’s pre-Oct. 7 warning to Israel

Key Points:

• Palestinian politician Sufian Abu Zaida revealed he was the intermediary who warned Israel in September 2023 about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s plan for a major attack, using the term “zilzal” (earthquake) to describe it.
• Abu Zaida relayed Sinwar’s warning through a Palestinian adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who then reportedly confirmed the message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a late September call.
• Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval’s investigation claims Netanyahu received but downplayed the warning, did not inform key military and intelligence officials, and focused instead on unrest in the West Bank.
• Netanyahu denies the reported conversation with the UAE leader and has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz and the journalists, while the UAE has neither confirmed nor denied the call.
• The investigation suggests that had Israeli security agencies known about the warning earlier, it might have altered their threat assessment before Hamas’ October 7 attack.