“Israel” Falls out in Tripoli: Libya Fires FM, Asserts ‘No’ for Normalization

 

Mangoush was fired on Monday — and has since fled Libya — over the meeting with Cohen.

 

In a post to X [formerly Twitter] in Hebrew late Monday, Cohen said the Foreign Ministry “works regularly through overt and covert channels, and in a variety of secret ways to strengthen ‘Israel’s’ connections in the world,” and blasted “political opponents who have not advanced any significant achievement” in their “rush to react without knowing the details.”

 

Cohen had been widely castigated Monday for formally publicizing his meeting with Mangoush, with opposition figures denouncing him for an “amateurish, irresponsible” lack of judgment, and senior government sources accusing him of inflicting serious harm on entity’s diplomacy.

 

Washington, too, was said to be furious. US President Joe Biden was aware of the meeting between Cohen and Mangoush, the Walla news site reported, and encouraged Tripoli to attend, but was under the impression that the meeting was secret and would remain so.

 

“Israel’s” Channel 12 and Channel 13 reported that the acting US Ambassador to Israel, Stephanie Hallett, told Cohen on Monday evening that his publicizing of the unprecedented meeting was worrying. Channel 13 said she told him it was a misstep that needed to be corrected and that Cohen, in response, said Israel would not further discuss the meeting in public.

 

A US official quoted by Hebrew media said Cohen’s revelation “killed” the conversation channel with Libya about possibly normalizing ties with “Israel”.

 

An unnamed source in the Mossad spy agency was quoted by Channel 12 as saying Cohen’s conduct “has dealt immense damage to the ties formed in recent years,” adding: “He burned the bridge. It’s irreparable.”

 

Libyans reacted with outrage to Cohen’s announcement of the meeting and protests broke out in Tripoli and other western Libyan towns.

 

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh initially suspended Mangoush from her role, and said an investigation panel would be formed to look into the meeting, before firing her on Monday.

 

Libya’s foreign ministry denied any formal talks were held with Cohen. “What happened in Rome was an unofficial and unprepared casual meeting, during a meeting with the Italian foreign minister, and it did not include any discussions, agreements or consultations,” the Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a communique.

 

The ministry declared the “complete and absolute rejection of normalization with the Zionist entity” and affirmed its “full commitment to the national constants on the issues of the Arab and Islamic nations, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause,” while adhering to the position of Al-Quds being “the eternal capital of Palestine.”

 

After firing Mangoush, Dbeibeh visited the Palestinian embassy in Tripoli, and vowed there would be no normalization with “Israel”, the Libya Observer news site reported. During his visit, Dbeibeh again reiterated that he had no knowledge of Mangoush’s meeting with Cohen, and confirmed he had fired her.

 

Dbeibeh said he was “reaffirming Libya’s refusal to normalize relations with the Zionist entity,” the report said.