Former Palestinian minister claims he warned Israel ahead of 7 October attack

Former Palestinian Authority minister Sufian Abu Zaida was the intermediary who passed along a warning from then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to Israeli intelligence officials weeks before the 7 October attack, according to The Times of Israel. In a video posted on Facebook, Abu Zaida said that he was the unnamed source cited in an expose by Haaretz journalist Shlomi Eldar. Sinwar had threatened to cause an “earthquake” if talks with Israel over a long-term arrangement fell apart, he said. Abu Zaida, who until now was the Palestinian Authority’s minister for prisoner affairs, said he had acted as an intermediary, conveying a message from Sinwar to Israel. The Times of Israel reported that his disclosure is consistent with earlier speculation about the identity of the intermediary, including possible links to former senior Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan. Haaretz’s account also reported that a warning was subsequently communicated to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, who allegedly passed information to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although Netanyahu has denied that account.