Tripoli –
Libyan Foreign Minister (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Najla al-Mangush was fired by Prime Minister (Prime Minister) Abdelhamid Dbeiba after a controversial meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. The meeting of the two foreign ministers even provoked a demonstration in a country that does not recognize Israel.
Reportedly AFPOil-rich Libya plunged into chaos on Tuesday (August 29, 2023) after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
Since 2014, the country has been increasingly divided between Prime Minister Dbeiba’s Tripoli-backed United Nations (UN) government and a rival government based in eastern Libya.
A number of analysts who spoke with AFP seems to agree with the suggestion that Mangush has become a scapegoat for decisions actually made by a rival government based in eastern Libya. The meeting with Israel, according to analysts, is still connected with the attempts of the United States (USA) to put pressure on more Arab countries to normalize relations with Tel Aviv.
local news channel Al Ahrarciting a source in the Libyan government, said that Mangush was fired after a meeting last week in Rome with Cohen.
The Palestinian embassy in Tripoli also announced the dismissal of Mangoush, saying it was announced by Prime Minister Dbeiba, who visited the diplomatic mission on Monday (August 28) local time.
Prime Minister Dbeiba, according to the Palestinian embassy, also expressed “rejection of the normalization of relations with Israel” and expressed his full support for the Palestinian people.
The controversial meeting between Mangush and Cohen provoked demonstrations in Tripoli and several other cities on Sunday night (August 27). The demonstrators even blocked the roads with burning tires and waved the Palestinian flag.
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(NVC/ita)