Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said in his first comment on the Rome sit-down between Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush and her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen that “what happened in Rome was a serious matter, even if it was a side meeting or occurred by chance."
"This requires a harsh response to serve as a lesson for preserving the nation’s sanctities." Dbeibah said in a cabinet meeting on Thursday, when he added that the circumstances, reasons and method: regardless of good or bad intentions, would be known in detail through the ongoing investigations.
The Libyan PM reaffirmed his complete rejection of any form of normalization of relations with Israel, declaring his bias towards the Palestinian people, their just cause, and eternal capital, Jerusalem. He reiterated their condemnation of the ongoing attacks on Palestinian rights by the Israeli occupation.
He also explained that Najla Al-Mangoush worked throughout her office term at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wholeheartedly for the issues of Libya, and defended the country in every place, "but today we are obligated to our sanctities to transcend our emotions and human relations and bear the harsh measures as this is the tax of responsibility for each of us."
Dbeibah added that many parties had taken advantage of this incident to settle narrow political scores with his project represented in the draft elections and the constitution, indicating that those who took advantage of what happened in Rome "were seeking extension and chaos, practicing immigration trade, committing crimes, and asking the army of another country to attack their country."
"They took advantage of this noble and honorable cause. Before bragging about the right of the Palestinian people, where is the right of the Libyan people whom they oppressed? Before their bidding on constants, what did they do for provoking and legitimizing civil wars and delving into bloodshed? Before their claims of the slogans of the Palestinian struggle, why did they displace Libyan families?” He also hailed the security units that "succeeded in achieving security and imposing control that prevented chaos in the past days."
It's worth mentioning that Israeli news network, Arutz Sheva, revealed that the meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush and Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen was authorized by the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, adding that he had agreed to the meeting with the Italian Prime Minister during his recent visit to Rome, whose government promised Dbeibah the return of direct flights between Italy and Libya in exchange.
Reuters reported on Monday that the Libyan and Israeli Foreign Ministers had spoken for more than two hours last week in a meeting approved “at the highest levels” in Libya, adding that the Rome encounter was more of a pre-arranged sit-down hoping that Dbeibah would get more US support for his government.
The Libyan Prime Minister sees Israel as a possible bridge to the West and the US administration.” The official said, according to the report by Reuters.
A diplomatic source in Italy confirmed to Reuters that there had been contact for some time between the two Foreign Ministries before the meeting, saying that they asked Rome to help determine the location of the meeting.
