Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Hamid al-Dabaiba on Sunday suspended his Foreign Minister, Najla el-Mangoush, and launched her investigation after she met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen last week, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Monday. The meeting took place even though Israel and Libya do not have diplomatic relations (History Made: Israeli, Libyan Foreign Ministers Meet in Italy).
Libya’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying el-Mangoush rejected a meeting with Israeli representatives, and what took place was “an unprepared, casual encounter during a meeting at Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.”
Minister Cohen issued a counter statement, insisting, “I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations.”
Cohen said he had spoken to el-Mangoush about the importance of preserving Jewish heritage in Libya.
Jews first settled in Libya at the turn of the first millennium, and in 115 led a bloodied rebellion against the Roman Empire that spread to many Jewish communities in the Diaspora. On the eve of Israel’s declaration of independence, an estimated 38,000 Jews were living in Libya, most of whom left for Italy and Israel.
Arab news outlets reported late Sunday night, citing security officials, that Minister el-Mangoush had left Libya and flown to Turkey on a government-owned plane, with the assistance of Libya’s Internal Security Agency.
The first reports of her departure surfaced on social media after a Falcon business jet belonging to the Libyan government departed at an unusually late hour and landed early in the morning in Istanbul.
Within Israel, there was initially a lot of blame thrown around as to who leaked the meeting, with employees within the Foreign Ministry blaming the Foreign Minister, and the Foreign Minister blaming the employees. In the end, a statement was released from the Foreign Ministry that neither the Minister nor the Ministry employees leaked the meeting.
According to Abu Ali Express, according to Mangoush, her meeting with the Israeli minister had received the explicit approval and awareness of the Libyan Prime Minister. Furthermore, she disclosed that it was the Libyan Prime Minister who instructed her to release a statement last night asserting that the meeting had been unplanned and accidental, in order to avoid repercussions.
Mangoush also asserted that she possesses “numerous documents” supporting her claims and that she refuses to be made the scapegoat, as requested by the Prime Minister (who had just recently announced her dismissal).
According to Makor Rishon, the Libyans and Israel have been holding secret meetings for the past three years.
