As reported on Sunday, August 27, Israel’s foreign ministry stated that last week witnessed a meeting between the foreign ministers of Israel and Libya, marking what is believed to be the inaugural diplomatic engagement between these two nations. Libya’s leader announced that he had suspended his foreign minister, leading to street protests in various cities, including the capital.
The foreign ministers of Israel and Libya met last week, Israel’s foreign ministry said Sunday, of what is reported to be the first such diplomatic initiative between the two countries.
The unprecedented talks between Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart in the Tripoli-based administration, Najla al-Mangoush, took place at a meeting in Rome hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
The two discussed “the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jews, which includes renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country”, Cohen was quoted as saying in the statement.
The leader of Libya’s government said Sunday that he had suspended his foreign minister after her Israeli counterpart announced he had held talks with her last week in Rome.
Najla al-Mangoush has been “temporarily suspended” and will be subject to an “administrative investigation” by a commission chaired by the justice minister, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said on Sunday evening in an official decision posted on Facebook.
The Libyan foreign ministry described it as a “chance and unofficial encounter”, but news of the meeting had already led to street protests in several Libyan cities.
The political row broke out Sunday after Israel’s foreign ministry said the two countries’ foreign ministers had met the previous week.
Street protest
Earlier on Sunday evening, Libya’s Presidential Council requested “clarifications” from the government, according to Libya al-Ahrar TV, citing correspondence from spokeswoman Najwa Wheba.
The Presidential Council, which has some executive powers and sprang from the UN-backed political process, includes three members representing the three Libyan provinces.
The letter said that this development “does not reflect the foreign policy of the Libyan state, does not represent the Libyan national constants and is considered a violation of Libyan laws which criminalize normalization with the ‘Zionist entity’”.
Like numerous other North African countries, Libya has a rich Jewish heritage.
But during decades of rule by former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, thousands of Jews were expelled from Libya and many synagogues were destroyed.
Israel has normalized relations with some Arab countries recently as part of US-backed deals known as the Abraham Accords.
Khalil Wakim and Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
