APA – Tripoli (Libya) The head of Libyan diplomacy, Najlaa Al-Mangoush has been suspended from her duties as foreign minister following the announcement on Sunday of a meeting she had with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, last week.
Mrs. Mangoush “has been temporarily suspended” and subjected to an “administrative investigation” by a commission chaired by the Minister of Justice, the government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeiba announced Sunday evening.
Shortly before, a statement from the Libyan Foreign Ministry announced that Minister Najlaa Al-Mangoush had “refused to hold meetings with any party representing the Israeli entity and remains categorically firm on this position, in line with the approach of the Libyan government of national unity and the positions rooted in the conscience of the Libyan people.”
“The condemnatory statements issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation rejecting Israeli colonization and the repeated attacks on the Palestinian camps and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are a clear expression of the Libyan State’s firm position on these issues,” the Libyan ministry maintains.
According to the Libyan Ministry, “what took place in Rome was an informal and unprepared meeting with the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, which did not involve any discussion, agreement or consultation, but the Minister clearly stated Libya’s constant position on the Palestinian question.”
The Ministry “flatly denies the exploitation reported by the Hebrew and international press and their attempt to give the incident the character of meetings or talks,” Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release states.
In line with all the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its “total and absolute rejection of normalization with the Zionist entity” and once again reaffirms its firm position towards the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people.
Later in the day, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that he had held talks with his Libyan counterpart Najla al-Mangoush during an “unprecedented” meeting in Rome last week.
“I spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the great potential of relations between the two countries,” said Mr. Cohen, according to a statement from his office.
He added that he had discussed with Mrs. Mangoush “the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Judaism through the repair of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in that country.”
According to the Minister, this is a “first step in relations between Israel and Libya.”
“Libya’s size and strategic position offer a huge opportunity for the State of Israel,” he said.
The meeting took place under the auspices of Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, according to the press release.
HA/fss/abj/APA