West News Wire: Senior government sources claim that Najla al-Mangoush, the Libyan foreign minister who came under fire for meeting with her Israeli colleague, has been fired.
Sources says Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who had earlier announced an investigation into al-Mangoush’s meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen last week in Rome.
Since Cohen’s revelation yesterday, which sparked widespread protests throughout Libya, there has been a lot of conjecture about Al-Mangoush, including allegations that she has left the country.
In response, the Libyan Internal Security Service said she was on the list of those who were prohibited from flying and denied any accusations that it had authorised or supported her departure.
The diplomatic dispute started on Sunday after Israel’s foreign ministry claimed that the two nations’ top diplomats had met the week prior at a gathering held by Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister of Italy.
In a statement from Israel’s foreign office, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said, “I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations. It is the first such diplomatic initiative between the two countries.”
In Israel, the news was not well received, with observers claiming that Cohen’s actions went against proper diplomatic protocol.
Cohen’s announcement, according to Channel 12 in Israel, has significantly harmed Israel’s credibility.
Cohen’s move had made nations more distrustful of Cohen, according to opposition leader Yair Lapid on X, the platform that briefly housed Twitter.
Al-Mangoush “refused to meet with any party” who was representing Israel, according to the Libyan foreign ministry, adding the encounter was “a chance and unofficial encounter which did not involve any discussion, agreement, or consultation.” Additionally, it charged that Israel had attempted to “present this incident” as a “meeting or talks”.
The nation in North Africa neither recognises Israel nor maintains diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. Dealing with Israel is illegal by a 1957 statute in Libya, which carries a maximum nine-year prison sentence.
The person claimed that although the Libyan premier initially agreed, he was wary of public backlash in a nation recognised for its advocacy of the Palestinian cause.
On Monday, an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that the meeting between al-Mangoush and Cohen was agreed in advance “at the highest levels” in Libya and lasted more than an hour.
Separately, Israel’s former foreign minister and prime minister Yair Lapid criticised Cohen for going public with the sensitive meeting.
