Conflicts: Libya’s prime minister rejects normalization with Israel

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conflicts
Libya’s prime minister rejects normalization with Israel

Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba – the country does not recognize Israel as a state. photo

© Matt Dunham/AP/dpa

In Italy, the Libyan Foreign Minister and her Israeli counterpart meet unexpectedly – an explosive meeting: the two countries do not maintain official diplomatic relations.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba has sharply criticized a politically sensitive meeting between his foreign minister and her Israeli counterpart. There will be a “hard reaction” to it, and he rejects any form of normalization of relations with Israel, Dbaiba said at a cabinet meeting in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The two countries have no official diplomatic relations, and Libya does not even recognize Israel as a state.

Last week, the Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mankush and her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen met surprisingly in Italy. According to Israeli information, the first meeting of the two countries’ chief diplomats in Rome was about possible cooperation, among other things. However, the Libyan government later announced that it was merely an “informal” and “unprepared” meeting. The meeting triggered violent protests in the Islamic civil war country Libya. Dbaiba reportedly had the foreign minister suspended to investigate the case.

Yesterday evening, the Libyan head of government made his first public statement about the explosive meeting. It was “an important matter,” even if “it just happened on the side,” he said. “Regardless of the circumstances, reasons and methods, and regardless of good or bad intentions, we will all learn the details of what happened in Rome through the ongoing investigation.”

dpa

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