The Ministry of Oil and Gas has rejected the meeting between the dismissed Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Mangoush and her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, saying in a statement that “all these kinds of meetings or statements by state officials in Libya that call for joining organizations or attending forums (especially in the fields of oil and gas) where the Zionist Entity officials are present are completely rejected.”
The Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas reiterated the constants of Libyans toward the Palestinian Cause against the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation, stressing commitment to the laws in the country that prohibit meetings with the Zionist Entity officials.
According to an announcement by the Palestinian embassy in Libya on Tuesday, the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, had told the diplomats that he had sacked Al-Mangoush after she had fled Libya to Türkiye and then off to a European country; according to news sources. No official government dismissal statement of Al-Mangous had been published yet.
Israeli media and Foreign Ministry broke the news of the secret meeting in Rome to the public on Sunday evening, sparking a backlash and angry protests inside Libya.
The Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement Sunday night saying the meeting happened in an informal capacity while Al-Mangoush was holding bilateral talks with Italy’s Tajani in Rome.
Before the MFA and PM had made up their minds to speak to the public about the “clandestine meeting” and before any Government of National Unity’s officials had addressed the elephant in the room, the Presidential Council, High Council of State and House of Representatives – followed later by the Fatwa House – condemned the meeting with Israeli FM Cohen, calling for holding legally accountable those who arranged and held the Rome encounter, since Libyan laws incriminate by jail time those who hold talks with Israeli officials.
