CAIRO: Libya’s suspended foreign minister fled the country on Monday, a day after Israel said its top diplomat had met with her last week – news that sparked scattered street protests in the chaos-hit North African country.
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads one of Libya’s rival governments, said he had suspended Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush and referred her to an investigation into the meeting, the first ever between Libya’s top diplomats and Israel. Dbeibah did not clarify on what grounds Mangoush will be investigated. However, it is illegal to normalize relations with Israel under the 1957 law in Libya, which has long been hostile to Israel.
According to a Libyan foreign ministry official, Mangoush fled to Turkey after Israel announced the meeting.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Mangoush met in Rome a few days ago. It was a small breakthrough for the Israeli government, whose hard-line policy toward the Palestinians has cooled its burgeoning ties with the Arab world.
Cohen said they discussed the importance of preserving the legacy of Libya’s former Jewish community, including renovating synagogues and cemeteries. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the talks also touched on possible Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry tried downplaying the meeting, calling it an “unprepared and unofficial meeting during a meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister”. It said that Mangoush’s meeting with Cohen did not involve “any conversations, agreements or consultations.”
Dbeibah’s decision to suspend Mangoushe suggested he was unaware of the meeting. But two senior Libyan government officials told The Associated Press that the prime minister was aware of the talks between his foreign minister and Israel’s top diplomat.
One of the officials said Dbeibah gave the go-ahead for the meeting last month when he was visiting Rome. The Prime Minister’s Office organized the meeting in coordination with Mangoush, he said.
The second official said the meeting lasted about two hours and Mangoush briefed the prime minister directly after she returned to the capital Tripoli. The official said the meeting capped a US-brokered effort to have Libya join a number of Arab countries establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.
The official said the normalization of relations between Libya and Israel was first discussed in a meeting between Dbeibah and CIA Director William Burns, who visited the Libyan capital in January.
Libya’s prime minister gave initial approval to join the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords but feared a public backlash in a country known for its past support for the Palestinian cause, the official said.
Meanwhile, the official said Mangoush, who was surprised by the Israeli announcement, quickly fled the Libyan capital on a private flight to Istanbul.
Both officials seek anonymity for their safety in giving out the details.
