Libyan Express
Former Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush has denied claims, in a recent Al Jazeera interview, that her controversial meeting with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome last August was aimed at normalising relations between the two countries.
In the exclusive interview with Al Jazeera’s Atheer podcast, aired this month, Al-Mangoush revealed that Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah had authorised the meeting to address Mediterranean security and stability concerns. She characterised her subsequent departure from Tripoli as politically motivated and expressed willingness to face any investigation into the matter.
The meeting, which took place in Rome in August 2023, marked the first known public engagement between senior Libyan and Israeli officials. Its revelation sparked widespread protests across Libya, leading to Al-Mangoush’s immediate dismissal from her position.
The former minister disclosed that she was barred from making public statements about the meeting, which triggered significant unrest in several Libyan cities. What was intended to be a brief departure from Tripoli following the controversy has extended into a year-long absence, according to Al-Mangoush.
During the interview, she emphasised that she confronted Cohen about his government’s hardline policies and advocated for Palestinian rights at the outset of their discussion. The primary focus, she maintained, was on strategic matters concerning Libya, particularly regarding Mediterranean resource allocation and maritime borders amid recent discoveries.
Al-Mangoush highlighted the meeting’s timing, noting it occurred before the October 7 events and subsequent conflict in Gaza. She stressed the Libyan people’s historical support for the Palestinian cause and detailed the meeting’s contents, repeatedly asserting that Prime Minister Dbeibah had coordinated the engagement.
She criticised Dbeibah’s handling of the fallout after Israeli media exposed the meeting. “The crisis could have been resolved if Dbeibah had addressed the Libyan people directly with the truth,” Al-Mangoush stated, adding that her attempts to speak publicly about the matter were blocked by the Prime Minister.
The revelations have added another layer to the ongoing political tensions in Libya, raising questions about diplomatic transparency and decision-making processes within the Government of National Unity. The Libyan government has yet to respond to Al-Mangoush’s latest statements.
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Meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister
wasn’t for normalizing relations
AbdulkaderAssad
Dismissed Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush denied that the motive behind the meeting she held with the former Foreign Minister of Israel, Eli Cohen, in Italy was to pave the way for Libya’s normalization with Israel.
Al-Mangoush confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera’s Atheer podcast that she was assigned by the Prime Minister of Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, to hold the meeting to discuss strategic issues related to the security and stability of the Mediterranean, while announcing that her departure from Tripoli was a political decision, adding that “she is ready for any investigation that reveals the truth of the meeting that sparked a storm of controversy in Libya.”
She said that she was accused of normalization of relations with Israel and that Libyans did not hear the truth nor did they receive the full picture of what happened, as she was prevented, according to her confirmation to Al Jazeera, from making any statement that would reveal the truth of what happened, and she was asked to leave Tripoli on the basis of her return after days, but her absence lasted for over a year.
Al-Mangoush stressed that at the beginning of the meeting with Cohen, she criticized the extremist policies of the Israeli government and defended the rights of the Palestinians. She indicated that the meeting with Cohen aimed to discuss sensitive strategic issues of concern to Libya, including the stakes related to resources in the Mediterranean Basin, specifically gas and maritime borders, in light of recent discoveries, and to “dot the i’s and cross the t’s regarding those resources.”
She pointed out that it was impossible to hold the meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister, after October 07 and the Israeli war on Gaza, as she stressed that the Palestinian Cause was sensitive to the Libyan people and that they were raised respecting it. She talked about the precise details of the content of the meeting with Cohen, which she reiterated throughout the interview that it was coordinated with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, whom she criticized for not managing the crisis wisely since the Israeli media leaked the meeting.
“The issue would have been resolved simply if Dbeibah had spoken directly, addressed the Libyan people and revealed the truth.” She said, and when asked why she did not reveal the truth directly, Al-Mangoush said that Dbeibah refused this step.
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