Netanyahu's Office Claims Secret UAE Visit to Meet MBZ; UAE Foreign Ministry Denies It 'Categorically'

A significant diplomatic controversy erupted on May 14, 2026, when Israel's Prime Minister's Office claimed Netanyahu had made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates to meet UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). The UAE Foreign Ministry immediately and categorically denied the claim, calling it 'entirely unfounded.' The disclosure — whether accurate or a deliberate information operation — caused diplomatic turbulence in the Gulf region, where the Abraham Accords normalization between Israel and the UAE (signed September 2020) has been strained by the Gaza war and broader regional tensions. Other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have publicly conditioned normalization on Israeli acceptance of Palestinian statehood. If a secret Netanyahu-MBZ meeting did occur, it would represent a significant backchannel diplomatic move amid Netanyahu's ICC arrest warrants, which restrict his travel to ICC member states (the UAE is not an ICC member). The controversy coincided with President Trump's regional tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE (May 13–16), which focused on economic deals and the broader Middle East realignment.