Torn Between Militias, Libya Is a Hornet's Nest – and Far From Relations With Israel
When the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen ran to tell everyone under the sun about his meeting with his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush, he probably hadn’t imagined that it would result in Mangoush being suspended and having to flee her country to Turkey. It appears that for the moment, despite Cohen’s celebratory announcement, Libya is still far from normalizing its relations with Israel.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 17:57 UTC
Israel: PM Netanyahu to vet all secret meetings amid Libya fallout
Cohen’s X post followed a statement earlier in the day from the Foreign Ministry denying that it was the source of the leak. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday revealed the meeting between Cohen and Mangoush. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, Israel’s previous prime minister and foreign minister, had harsh words on Monday for Cohen’s handling of the diplomatic exchange. The incident with the Libyan foreign minister is amateurish, irresponsible and a serious failure of judgment. In his X post, Cohen defended the work of the Foreign Ministry since he took over from Lapid at the end of last year.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 17:11 UTC
Uproar over Libya-Israel meeting shows limits of regional normalization
ArrowRight Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced Sunday that he had met secretly in Italy last week with Najla el-Mangoush, foreign minister for Libya’s Tripoli-based government, touting “the great potential for relations” between the two countries. For Israel, the meeting with Libya’s top diplomat represented the latest milestone in its effort, facilitated by the United States, to establish diplomatic ties with once-hostile Middle Eastern countries. Libya's prime minister fired the country's foreign minister on Aug. 28, in an effort to contain growing anger after she met with her Israeli counterpart. In the past, normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries were preceded by years of unofficial, underground connections. “If the U.S. has really been pushing that government toward normalization, this is clearly a strategic mistake.”Hendrix reported from Jerusalem.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 17:09 UTC
Earl R. Frank 1933-2023
BRACEVILLE — Earl R. “Corky” Frank, 90, of Braceville, passed away peacefully into eternal rest Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at his residence. He was born Feb. 9, 1933, in Warren, the son of the late Earl George Frank and Hazel Irene Failes Frank. Earl has lived in Braceville for most of his life, and graduated from Braceville High School in the class of 1951. Earl and his wife traveled to 48 states and Canada in their motor home, staying many winter months in LaBelle, Florida. Arrangements have been entrusted to the James Funeral Home, 8 E. Broad St., Newton Falls, OH 44444, 330-872-5440.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:48 UTC
For the moment, the Israel-Libya diplomatic channel is dead
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wanted the meeting to be publicized straight away, but the Libyans asked for more time. The Libyans rejected it and Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush was fired, bringing an end, for the moment, to the diplomatic channel with Israel. Why did the Israeli Foreign Ministry issue the statement in the first place? “A journalist had info on the meeting and was about to publish it, so we had no choice,” Israeli officials told JNS. Yesterday, Stephanie Hallett, the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Israel, met with Foreign Minister Cohen and criticized Israel’s conduct.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:33 UTC
Report: Libyan FM dismissed for meeting Israel's Cohen
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Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:25 UTC
Netanyahu seizes control of back-channel diplomacy after Libya fiasco
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seized control of Israel’s back-channel diplomacy after the incident with Tripoli in which Foreign Minister Eli Cohen prematurely published information about a secret meeting with his Libyan counterpart. On Tuesday, Netanyahu declared that all secret diplomatic meetings by any government ministry must be approved by his office in advance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on March 13, 2023. Mangoush who was fired for meeting Cohen, fled to Turkey on Monday and has reportedly continued on from there to London. He continued, adding that what is “happening today in the Foreign Ministry is very sad.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:17 UTC
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Israel's Netanyahu bans ministers from 'secret' meetings after Libya debacle
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drastically curtailed the ability of government ministers to conduct diplomatic business independently, days after a blunder by Israel’s Foreign Minister caused a backlash in Libya. The announcement of the meeting – the first of its kind between foreign ministers from the two countries – caused riots in Libya and stern rejections from senior Libyan officials. Soon after Mr Cohen’s announcement, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who heads the Government of National Unity, fired Ms Mangoush. Violent protests in Libya followed Mr Cohen's statement, with protesters torching Israeli flags, tyres and even Mr Dbeibeh’s home. Ms Mangoush represented the UN-recognised government based in Tripoli and was the first woman to take on the position of Foreign Minister.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:10 UTC
Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is buried in private, ending his tumultuous journey
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A private burial was held for Yevgeny Prigozhin, ending a tumultuous journey from St. Petersburg street thug to Kremlin-financed mercenary leader, following a suspicious plane crash two months after his brief mutiny that challenged the authority of President Vladimir Putin. Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying Prigozhin was laid to rest Tuesday without any publicity, per his family's wishes. Just before the crash, Prigozhin had reportedly returned from a trip to Africa, where he sought to expand Wagner Group’s activities. The crash came exactly two months after the brutal and profane mercenary boss launched a rebellion against the Russian military leadership. Putin said Wagner fighters could sign a contract with the Russian military, move to Belarus or retire from service.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:08 UTC
What the latest Libya debacle tells us about U.S. and Israeli indifference to Libyan lives
The U.S., U.K., and Qatar had facilitated a meeting between Libyan and Israeli officials in Vienna in 2004. Yet the United States pressed Libyan leaders to find a way to normalize relations with Israel. Doubling down on the dishonesty, Israeli officials claimed that the Americans did not protest Cohen’s actions. Israel, in endangering Libyan officials and threatening to spark unrest, was acting with characteristic bad faith. The United States, however, is ultimately responsible, again, for risking lives in Libya.
Source:Libya Today
August 29, 2023 16:05 UTC
Libya’s foreign minister sacked after Israel meeting sparks protests
Al-Ahrar private news channel, citing a government source, said Mangoush had been fired following a meeting last week in Rome with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. AdvertisementThe Libyan foreign ministry, in a statement, defended the meeting with Cohen as a “chance and unofficial encounter”. Tyres burn on the road as people protest against a meeting held last week in Italy between the foreign ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya on Monday. They “have used Libya’s first female foreign minister as the fall person for decisions they all partook in,” Gomati said. The meeting in Rome had been hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Source:Libya Today
August 28, 2023 22:14 UTC
U.S., Arab Diplomats: Turmoil in Libya After Israeli Minister Meeting Could Deter Arab Countries From Normalization
U.S., Arab Diplomats: Turmoil in Libya After Israeli Minister Meeting Could Deter Arab Countries From NormalizationAs Israel works to expand its relations with Arab and Muslim countries, one senior diplomat warned that 'No leader wants to images like those [from Libya] in his capital' ■ Israeli foreign minister blames 'political opponents,' says his office will not be deterred from establishing ties with the Arab world
Source:Libya Today
August 28, 2023 20:11 UTC
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Libyan Foreign Minister has 'fled to Turkey' after firing over Israel meeting
Najla Mangoush, Libya's foreign minister, has fled to Turkey after being fired for meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in Italy last week. "She has fled to Turkey," the House of Representatives source said, sharing with The National a screenshot of the flight path that Ms Mangoush took. People burn photos showing Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Tripoli, Libya on Sunday. After news of the meeting emerged, Libya's Foreign Ministry also reaffirmed the country's support for the Palestinian issue "emphasising Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine". Ms Mangoush represents the UN-recognised government based in Tripoli and is the first woman to take on the position of Foreign Minister.
Source:Libya Today
August 28, 2023 17:04 UTC
Libyan PM sacks foreign minister as row over Israel meeting grows
TRIPOLI/JERUSALEM :Libya's prime minister sacked Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Monday in an effort to contain a growing furore over Mangoush's meeting with her Israeli counterpart last week, which prompted protests overnight in several Libyan cities. Protesters demonstrated in front of Libya's Foreign Ministry late on Sunday, causing some damage outside the building, where a large security presence was visible early on Monday. Mangoush's office tried to quell the anger late on Sunday, saying she had rejected a request for an official meeting with Cohen, but that they had met during an unplanned encounter while she was meeting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The Libya prime minister sees Israel as a possible bridge to the West and the U.S. administration," the official said. Libya's parliament based in the east, which rejects the GNU, said on Sunday it would hold hearings into the meeting with the Israeli minister.
Source:Libya Today
August 28, 2023 16:47 UTC
Libya's FM fired after meeting Israeli counterpart
STORY: The meeting prompted protests overnight in several Libyan cities including in front of the Libyan Foreign Ministry. The meeting is contentious because Libya does not formally recognize Israel and there is widespread public support across the Libyan political spectrum for the Palestinian cause of creating an independent state in territory Israel occupies. Libyan citizen Nouri Abdelsalam said any "normalization" of relations was unacceptable to the Libyan people.
Source:Libya Today
August 28, 2023 16:32 UTC