OVER the weekend, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Debibah said that he had suspended Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush.
This comes after Mangoush held a secret meeting with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in the Italian capital Rome last week as revealed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
This was also confirmed by Cohen when he said he spoke with Mangoush about the great potential for Israel and Libya from their relations.
“I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations,” according to Eli Cohen, Foreign Minister, Israel.
Under a 1957 Libyan law, dealing with Israel can be punishable by up to 9 years in prison.
The said meeting prompted protests around the Libyan capital city of Tripoli.
Footage shows burning barricades assembled from Tyres and tree branches on the road, as well as slow-moving traffic.
As of now, Mangoush is replaced with Fathallah Al-Zani, Libya’s current Youth Minister And Prime Minister Debibah added that Mangoush will be referred to an investigation.
According to the Libyan foreign ministry, what happened in Rome was an unofficial meeting that was not pre-planned adding that the encounter did not include any agreements.
“What happened in Rome was an unofficial meeting that was not pre-planned,” according to Libya’s Foreign Ministry.
However, the Israeli side, which reported the meeting on Sunday, said that they discussed possible cooperation, including Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture, and water management.
An oil-rich country, Libya, was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed intervention in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Since then, the country has been split between the Western-backed government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the country’s east.
In 2020, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) signed an un-mediated ‘permanent ceasefire’, but there have been repeated delays in holding elections.
Libya has strong relations with the Palestinian leadership and does not recognize – or have diplomatic relations with— Israel, while the meeting also sparked protests across the Arab State.
As of now, reports say that Mangoush has fled the country and is currently in Turkiye.
