Netanyahu's former adviser: "The flight to bin Zayed - suspicious"

Nir Hefetz, former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, casts doubt on the prime minister's warning and the reason for his quick trip to the UAE for a meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed. Hefetz claims the trip was intended for image-making, and that Netanyahu managed within 24 hours to shift the public agenda in his favor during an election period.

Nir Hefetz, former adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gave an interview on 103FM and cast serious doubt on the reason for Netanyahu's quick and secret trip to the UAE for a meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed. Hefetz argued that the private jet flight and the attempt to conceal it from the media raise suspicion, and that in his view the main goal was image-making, similar to trips he had arranged for Netanyahu in the past. According to him, during an election period the needs of the campaign take over the prime minister's schedule, and in this case the day's agenda was unfavorable to Netanyahu, so he acted to change the public discourse. Hefetz estimated that since he left Netanyahu's office in 2018, the levels of cynicism in his inner circle have intensified, and that Netanyahu managed within 24 hours to shift the agenda in his favor. He noted that the trend in which the Change Bloc tried to approach 61 seats has reversed, and that Netanyahu is strengthening slightly, but the decision will be made in the last ten days of the election campaign.