There were minor demonstrations reported by several Libyan media sites last night in several Libyan cities, including the capital Tripoli, Misrata, Zawia, Bani Walid, Sabrata, Zintan, and Mesalata, against the possible attempts to start of the normalisation of relations with Israel back in 2023.
Roads were blocked with makeshift obstacles including debris, rubbish and burning car tyres and the demonstrators stressed the adherence to the Palestinian cause.
The demonstrations were sparked by the broadcast last night by the Aljazeera satellite TV channel of an interview by the Tripoli Libyan government’s former Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Mangoush. In the interview Al-Mangoush said the Aldabaiba government had coordinated her secret meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome in August 2023.
The scandal at the time had led to Aldabaiba immediately suspending Al-Mangoush, effectively sacking her, claiming that she had held the meeting without his authorisation – acting individually due to her lack of diplomatic experience.
The demonstrators also demanded that the Attorney General’s Office reveal the results of the investigations announced after her suspension.
During the interview the suspended Foreign Minister Al-Mangoush revealed the details of the secret meeting she had with former Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Italy, which sparked widespread controversy in Libya when it was leaked.
Al-Mangoush explained that the meeting was secret for security and strategic purposes and ostensibly about the security and stability of Libya, especially with regard to water resources, energy and the territorial waters of the Mediterranean – and in preparation for the then upcoming sustainability conference.
Al-Mangoush also explained that she has been referred for investigation since the incident in August 2023, but that until today she has not been summoned. She expressed her surprise that the Aldabaiba government had arranged for her to leave Libya for Turkey without investigating her.
It will be recalled that the Attorney General had issued a decision in September 2023 to form an investigation committee to investigate the incident of the Al-Mangoush incident. Nothing had been heard of the incident since or of its investigation.
Calls for an official investigation into the incident
Political critics have described Mangoush’s statements as a “political scandal” and an outright contradiction of Aldabaiba’s assertion that he had not authorised her meeting with the Israelis. They have called on the Public Prosecutor to open an urgent investigation into the incident.
At the time of publication there had been no official comment from the Aldabaiba government on the affair or demonstrations.
