According to book extracts published by Haaretz, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had a phone call with Netanyahu that September. The report said Netanyahu was warned that the then-Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major operation. Haaretz, which has historically been a vocal critic of the prime minister, has stood by its reporting and rejected Netanyahu's defamation claim, saying its "sole purpose is to silence journalistic criticism". The report - and Netanyahu's angry denials, accusing Haaretz of lies - comes as the general election campaign in Israel starts to heat up. "To his surprise however, the prime minister reacted with relative calm," Haaretz reported.
