Protests erupt in Libya due to contacts with Israel

The Libyan prime minister suspended his foreign minister after she met informally with her Israeli counterpart.

Libya, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, does not recognize Israel, and the meeting sparked protests in the Arab-majority country.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that the meeting with Naglaa Al-Manousheh was a first historic step on the road to establishing relations.

Israel is working to build closer relations with Arab countries and countries with a Muslim majority that it does not officially recognize.

But the Libyan Presidential Council, which represents its three provinces, said it was illegal to normalize relations with Israel.

The office of Parliament Speaker Al-Manqoush was accused of high treason, and Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba referred her for investigation.

Israel’s announcement of the holding of the talks was surprising given that it was not known to court Libya, the sworn enemy and champion of the Palestinian struggle, especially during the era of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. During his reign, thousands of Jews were expelled from Libya and many synagogues were destroyed.

The statement was also unusual in its level of detail, and may have been intended to offset any expected denials on the Libyan side—also by identifying and acknowledging Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani for hosting the meeting in Rome.

An unnamed Israeli official told Reuters on Monday that the meeting had been agreed in advance “at the highest levels” in Libya and lasted more than an hour.

In his statement on Sunday, Cohen said he met Mangoush last week on the sidelines of a summit in Rome, and that they discussed the “great potential for relations” between Israel and Libya.

He said they talked about Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture, water management, and the importance of preserving the Jewish heritage in Libya, including the renovation of synagogues and cemeteries.

However, the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that al-Mangoush refused to meet with representatives of Israel, and what happened was an “accidental, unprepared meeting during a meeting in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

A statement also stated that the dialogue did not include “any discussions, agreements or consultations” and that the ministry “renews its complete and absolute rejection of normalization” with Israel.

Protests erupted in the capital Tripoli and some other cities after news of the meeting. Roads were blocked, tires were burned and the Palestinian flag was waved by demonstrators, although the protests appear to be relatively small.

Libya has been in turmoil for years, with the country divided between the internationally recognized interim government in Tripoli and a rival government in the east.

If any agreement is brokered between Israel and Libya, the matter will be complicated by the political division that has existed since the overthrow of Gaddafi 12 years ago.

General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army runs the rival government in the eastern port city of Tobruk.

In recent years, Israel has sought to establish formal relations with the Arab League countries with which it does not have official relations – from moderate states to historical enemies.

Since 2020, it has signed US-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. The agreements were met with great anger by the Palestinians, who accused the Arab signatories of treason.

On Sunday evening, the Libyan Presidential Council asked the government for “clarification” about what happened. The Presidential Council assumes the duties of the head of state and is responsible for the country’s army.

In a letter from the commission, it was stated that the meeting between the two foreign ministers “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 that criminalize normalization with the ‘Zionist entity’.” .

She also asked Dabaiba to “enforce the law in the event of a meeting.”