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Arabia

Bibi reportedly met officials from Mideast countries that don’t have ties with Israel during UAE visit

2026-09-29

[IsraelTimes] During his snap Sunday visit to the United Arab Emirates to meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met with senior officials from several other Middle Eastern countries, including several that don’t have ties with Israel, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Among the planes that landed in Abu Dhabi at the same time as Netanyahu’s visit were a government plane from Libya, a Hercules aircraft from Morocco, a military plane from Qatar and an Emirati government plane that came from Riyadh, Kan says, in a report that had to clear Israel’s military censor.

The session was held to discuss Iran, Kan reports, adding that the expanded meeting was held after Netanyahu met with bin Zayed.

Powerful son of Libyan strongman rumored to have met Netanyahu in Abu Dhabi

[IsraelTimes] The plane of the deputy commander of the faction controlling eastern Libya landed in Abu Dhabi some 20 minutes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his entourage touched down on Sunday, fueling speculation of a covert meeting between the two.

Netanyahu flew secretly to the UAE with senior advisers to meet with Emirati President Mohamed Bin Zayed.

A short time later, according to flight data, a private Airbus jet with registration number P4-KH5I9 landed as well. According to the Italian Il Foglio daily, the jet is regularly used by Saddam Haftar,

…35, not the eldest son but the one tapped to be the family statesman, suavely leading at least eastern Libya into the brave and shining future…

son of Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar

...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
, who controls eastern Libya.

The outlet cites Mohamed Buisier, an erstwhile Haftar adviser who broke with the warlord, claiming that “Saddam met Netanyahu to secure political support for his bid for the Libyan presidency.”

A US-backed power-sharing deal meant to unify Libya, which is split between Khalifa Haftar’s strongman rule and opposing forces based in Tripoli, would have Saddam installed as Libya’s president.

The elder Haftar, who launched an offensive aimed at capturing Tripoli in 2019, has been backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli-based militias opposed to his rule have been aided by Qatar, Italy and Turkey.

The younger Haftar has been reported to have held meetings with Israeli officials in the past. In 2021, he reportedly landed in Israel for a secret meeting in which he offered to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries in return for Israeli support, according to Haaretz.

According to Israel Hayom, one of Haftar’s sons signed a contract in 2021 with an Israeli PR firm registered in the UAE ahead of since-delayed presidential elections.

Posted by:trailing wife

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