(Featured Image provided by Ryad Kramdi/AFP/Getty Images)
Recently, the Foreign Minister for Libya’s Tripoli-based government, Najla el-Mangoush, was forced to flee to Türkiye after it was leaked that she had met with an Israeli diplomat.
Israel’s own Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, announced on Sunday that he had secretly met up with Mangoush in Rome, Italy to discuss normalizing relations. To Israel, this was a monumental step forward in its effort to establish diplomatic ties with once-hostile Arab world countries. Over the past few years, with the help of the United States, Israel has formed diplomatic relations with Arab countries like the Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Morocco. Along with establishing ties, Cohen also mentioned the two had talked about preserving the heritage of Libya’s former Jewish community and possible Israel humanitarian assistance. Libya once had a thriving Jewish community for thousands of years, only having been drowned out in the last century due to violent riots and hostile governments.“Libya’s great size and strategic location afford huge importance to contacts with it and huge potential for Israel,” stated Cohen
Although the event might’ve been seen as a breakthrough for Israel, the same cannot be said for the vast majority of Libya’s population. Libya still does not officially recognize Israel, and there is much public support for Palestine’s cause of gaining independence from Israel. Practically overnight, protests erupted in Western Libyan cities, with demonstrators being seen burning tires, Israeli flags, and even one of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s homes. The meeting has served to further divide the war-torn country of Libya, which has since split into two rival governments (an Eastern government and the Tripoli-based one led by Dbeibeh) after its dictator was ousted back in 2011.
Fearing for her safety, Mangoush had fled to Türkiye on Monday after the news had broke about the meeting. Dbeibeh had officially suspended her and referred her to be the subject of an internal investigation, looking to pin most of the blame on her. After the meeting leaked, the Libyan foreign ministry tried to downplay the situation, stating that it was merely “an informal and unprepared meeting” and that Mangoush had reaffirmed Libyan support for the Palestinian cause. However, according to a few anonymous Israeli officials, rather the opposite was true.
They’ve stated that the meeting was planned for months, with Israeli and Libyan officials discussing it in advance numerous times. Moreover, two Libyan officials would tell the Associated Press that Dbeibeh was also involved in the planning of the meeting, adding that after the two-hour meeting had concluded, Mangoush had gone directly to the Prime Minister’s office to brief him.
Moreover, the Israeli foreign ministry has sought to tranquilize the situation. It released a later statement, saying that the ministry was forced to reveal the news about the meeting after an Israeli news site planned to publish it first and that it had informed the Libyans beforehand about the leak.
Nevertheless, Cohen has been criticized by Libyan and Israeli officials for leaking the sensitive meeting during a very crucial era in Israel-Arab relations. The House of Representatives of the Eastern government in Libya castigated the meeting, calling it a “legal and moral” crime, and calling for its own public prosecutor to investigate Dbeibeh’s government and its communications with Israel.“Countries of the world this morning are looking at the irresponsible leak of the meeting of the Israeli and Libyan foreign minister and asking themselves: Is it possible to manage foreign relations with this country? Is it possible to trust this country?” stated Yair Lapid, a former foreign minister and Israeli prime minister. “Overseeing the foreign policy of a country like Israel is complex and is often explosive and needs to be done cautiously and judiciously.”
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/29/libya-israel-protests-foreign-minister-meeting/
The Snapper 