Libyan foreign minister Najla al-Mangoush was suspended on Monday after allegedly meeting her Israeli counterpart without her government’s permission. International news agencies report this on Monday. Mangoush is said to have met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome last week. It would be an unprecedented (and unlikely) outreach, given that Libya does not even recognize Israel as a country and is historically a strong sympathizer of Palestine. Protests have erupted in Tripoli and other Libyan cities, with demonstrators marching to the Foreign Ministry to demand Mangoush’s resignation.
What exactly happened in Rome is a point of contention. “I have spoken with the Secretary of State about the great potential of the relationship between the two countries,” says Cohen. He is said to have spoken to Mangoush about “the importance of preserving the legacy of Libyan Jewry through the restoration of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in this country.” The meeting was allegedly planned in advance, lasted an hour and took place under the watchful eye of Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. He has not yet responded to the diplomatic row. It would be an astonishing turn of events, to say the least, given the poor relationship between the two countries.
‘exploitation of Hebrew media’
The Libyan Foreign Ministry strongly contradicts that statement: “What happened in Rome was a chance and unofficial meeting […] which did not involve any discussion, agreement or consultation.” Libya speaks of “exploitation by the Hebrew and international media” of this “incident”, which they would like to pass off as a deliberate “gathering”. The minister recalled “in a clear and unequivocal manner Libya’s position on the Palestinian cause”, the ministry added, assuring that Minister Mangoush had “refused to meet with any party representing the Israeli entity” and ‘had remained categorically firm on this point’.
Although the Libyan Foreign Ministry remains firmly behind Minister Mangoush, it is rumbling in other parts of the government. Mangoush has been suspended and is subject to an “administrative inquiry” by a committee headed by the justice minister, the government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah announced in a press release on Sunday evening.
The Presidential Council (PC), an important executive body, also demands clarification from the government about the ‘meeting’. According to the CP “reflects [de ontmoeting] not the foreign policy of the Libyan state, does not represent the Libyan national constants and is considered a violation of Libyan laws that normalize the relationship with the Zionist entity [oftewel: Israël] criminalize”.