Identical sources close to the Government of National Unity (GNU) confirmed Monday that Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah had sacked Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush, after he had issued a decision on Sunday night to suspend her and refer her to investigation because of a meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in Rome last week.
The Palestinian embassy in Libya said that Dbeibah had announced during his visit to the embassy the dismissal of Al-Mangoush from her post, despite the fact that the government had so far kept the news away from its official platforms.
The Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement later Sunday night saying the meeting happened in an informal capacity while Al-Mangoush was holding bilateral talks with Italy’s Tajani in Rome.
The MFA said Al-Mangoush knew very well the constants of the Palestinian Cause and would not conduct any relations or meetings with any representatives of Israel, which the Israeli MFA’s statement countered by saying that the meeting was official and pre-arranged: lasting for an hour.
While the Prime Minister said he had replaced Al-Mangoush as she would be investigated, he announced that the Minister of Youth, Mohammed Al-Zinni, stepped in her place as an acting FM.
Meanwhile, the former Israeli Prime Minister's spokesman for the Arab World, Ofir Gendelman, said on X - which he now deleted - that the regional circle of peace was expanding as Israel's Cohen met last week in Rome with his Libyan counterpart and discussed having bilateral relations and sending Libya humanitatian assistance. He indicated that the historic meeting was the first step in Libya-Israel relations.
