Palestine welcomes Libya's position on normalisation with Israel

Palestine yesterday thanked Libya for reiterating its refusal to normalise ties with Israel, Anadolu news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh sacked Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush after she held a secret meeting last week with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Rome.

Dbeibeh also visited the Palestinian Embassy in Tripoli to reiterate his government’s support for the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.

He “reiterated his absolute support for the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest to regain their full rights and for the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it “appreciates the positions expressed by Dbeibeh and his personal attendance at the embassy.”

“The size of the partisan and popular reactions to the Libyan foreign minister meeting with her Israeli counterpart is a reflection of the firm position of the Libyan people and their institutions in support of the Palestinian cause,” it added.

The first-ever public meeting between the Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers has triggered a storm of anger and protests in Libya.

The Libyan Foreign Ministry said the meeting was “informal” and “impromptu” and did not involve any discussions, agreements or consultations.

However, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing unnamed Israeli officials, said the meeting was “coordinated at the highest level” between the two countries and took place with the knowledge of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Libya does not recognise Israel and does not have diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv. It is forbidden to do so by law and violators could face up to ten years in jail.

Six Arab countries have established diplomatic ties with Israel, starting with Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

READ: Libya politicians call for ousting government over meeting with Israel official