Libyan Foreign Minister suspended after Israel meeting

By Nathan Morley

When details of the meeting emerged after an announcement from the Israeli government, small protests erupted in Libya.

The Israeli disclosure took everyone by surprise – not least the Libyan public.

It emerged that an informal meeting – on the sidelines of a summit - took place last week in Rome between its foreign minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla al-Mangoush.

The bulletin seemed to suggest the encounter was the first step in establishing diplomatic contacts, after Israel’s warming relations with other Arab countries.

However, as a long-time backer of the Palestinian cause, Libya steadfastly refuses to recognize Israel – meaning diplomatic relations do not exist.

Within hours of the meeting’s disclosure, the Libyan foreign minister had been suspended – followed by a government announcement rejecting the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.

Furthermore, Libya said it was "committed to the Palestinian cause".

At the same time, Libya's presidential council said it was illegal to normalize relations with Israel, whilst the Speaker's Office in parliament accused Mangoush of ‘grand treason’.

Mangoush is Libya's first female foreign minister, and has been in office for just over two years.

Small protests erupted in Tripoli and some other districts, which saw tyres burned and crowds joining in pro-Palestinian chants.