RIYADH/TRIPOLI — The head of the Libyan Government of
National Unity suspended
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Sunday,
August 27, and referred her for investigation after
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced he had held talks with her the week before in Rome.
اضافة اعلان
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah issued the
suspension order following the protests instigated by the news, with the
country’s Presidential Council demanding clarification, Arab News reported.
The High State Council, which holds an advisory role in
Libyan politics, also voiced its “surprise” at the reports of the meeting and
said those responsible “should be held accountable.”
Official statements
Mangoush has been “
temporarily suspended” and will be
subject to an “administrative investigation” by a commission chaired by the
justice minister, Dbeibah said on Sunday evening in an official decision posted
on Facebook.
Israel’s statement on the meeting, in which it said the
ministers had discussed possible cooperation, prompted protests on the streets
of Tripoli and its suburbs on Sunday evening in a sign of refusal of
normalization with Israel. The protests spread to other cities where young
people blocked roads, burned tires, and waved the Palestinian flag.
On Monday an Israeli official told Reuters that the
Italian-hosted meeting between Cohen and Mangoush was agreed upon in advance
“at the highest levels” in Libya and lasted more than an hour.
News site The Libya Update reported that
protesters stormed the foreign ministry headquarters in Tripoli to condemn the Mangoush-Cohen
meeting in Rome.
‘Just a casual encounter’
Libya’s Foreign Ministry clarified that Mangoush had
rejected a meeting with representatives of Israel and that what had occurred
was “an unprepared, casual encounter during a meeting at
Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.”
In a statement, the Libyan ministry accused Israel of trying
to “present this incident” as a “meeting or talks.” The statement said the
interaction did not include “any discussions, agreements or consultations” and
added the ministry “renews its complete and absolute
rejection of normalization” with Israel.
In the Israel foreign ministry statement, 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.”
The meeting was facilitated by
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Israel’s foreign ministry said, adding they had discussed
possible cooperation and Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture, and
water management.
There was no immediate confirmation of the meeting from
Rome.
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