Libya: Libya has suspended its Foreign Minister Ms. Najla al-Mangoush after her Israeli counterpart announced he had held talks with her in Rome. Prime Minister Mr. Abdul Hamid Dbeibah stated that Ms. Mangoush has been “temporarily suspended” and would be subject to an “administrative investigation by a commission chaired by the justice minister.”
Protests erupted in the streets of Tripoli and its suburbs as a sign of their refusal to normalize relations with Israel. The protests spread to other cities, where young people blocked roads, burned tires, and waved the Palestinian flag.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry described the meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Mr. Eli Cohen as a “chance and unofficial encounter.”
The protests broke out after Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that the two countries’ foreign ministers had met the previous week. The statement noted that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Mangoush spoke at a meeting in Rome hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Mr. Antonio Tajani.
Israel referred to the meeting as the first such diplomatic initiative between the two countries. “I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries in their relations,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry claimed that Ms. Mangoush had “refused to meet with any party representing Israel. What happened in Rome was a chance and unofficial encounter during a meeting with his Italian counterpart, which did not involve any discussion, agreement, or consultation.” The statement added that “the Minister had reiterated “in a clear and unambiguous manner Libya’s position regarding the Palestinian cause.” The Ministry accused Israel of trying to “present this incident as a meeting or talk.”
In the Israel Foreign Ministry statement, Mr. Cohen was quoted as saying that the two discussed “the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jews, which includes renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country.”
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