A surprise meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangush and her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Rome last week sparked uproar in the North African country. Mangush had to leave her post. While Cohen spoke of talks about the “great potential” for cooperation between the two states, the government in Tripoli downplayed the meeting as “coincidental.” Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba stressed on Friday that there will be no normalization of relations between his country and Israel.
It was “an important thing”, even if it happened “only incidentally”, the Libyan head of government said. “Regardless of the circumstances, reasons and methods, and regardless of good or bad intentions, we will all learn the details of what happened in Rome through the ongoing investigation.”
Demanded the resignation of the entire government
According to eyewitnesses, protesters in Tripoli set fire to tires and blocked roads. Demonstrators called for the resignation of the entire government. A video circulating on the internet is said to show people setting fire to Dbaiba’s residence. It was unclear whether the prime minister was in the building at the time. The information could not initially be independently verified. The sacked foreign minister has fled the country, according to the Libyan government.
The renegade general wanted military support from Israel
The two countries have no official diplomatic relations and Libya does not recognize Israel as a state. It was reported that there had been previous contacts between representatives of both countries, albeit not at this high level. Almost two years ago, the Israeli media reported that the powerful general Khalifa Haftar, who was extremely influential in the east of the country and who announced his candidacy for the presidential election at the time, had sought military and diplomatic support from Israel. In return, he wants to establish relations with Israel if he wins the election. However, this never happened.
Source: Krone
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