After a disastrous meeting between his foreign minister and his Libyan counterpart became public knowledge, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order requiring him to authorize any future private conversations.
According to the spokeswoman, the premier has also instructed his ministers to get his approval before making public any information about such meetings.
Netanyahu seems to be trying to remove himself from the political fiasco that might impact his whole normalization strategy with Arab governments by claiming ignorance about the meeting between the Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers.
The meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Libya’s Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush in Rome last week was hailed as a “historic” step toward normalization of relations between the two countries by the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
Al-Mangoush was suspended by Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah pending an inquiry after the announcement caused an instant uproar. After al-Mangoush feared for her safety and left to Turkey, he dismissed her.
Libyans in various cities also took to the streets in response to the news, burning tires, brandishing Palestinian flags, and expressing their displeasure with the prime minister. Historically, Libya has stood in solidarity with Palestine in its struggle against Israeli occupation.
After learning that an Israeli news organization planned to publish the encounter, Cohen allegedly went public with the information.
Like Netanyahu, Dbeibah maintained he had no knowledge of the meeting, although observers have argued it is doubtful the premiers were fully uninformed of their senior diplomats meeting on normalisation.
Since oil-rich Libya has long been split between two hostile administrations, one in the east and one in the west, Dbeibah heads an administration centered in Tripoli in the west. Armed groups and foreign governments have supported both sides.
Since the 2011 revolt that overthrew longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi, who was opposed to Israel and a fervent friend of the Palestinians and NATO, Libya has been in a state of perpetual upheaval.
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