Israeli PM orders ministries to get his OK before secret talks, as drama over Libya meeting persists

Source: Associated Press

Israeli PM orders ministries to get his OK before secret talks, as drama over Libya meeting persists

BY ISABEL DEBRE
Updated 3:42 PM EDT, August 29, 2023

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order Tuesday mandating that his office approve all secret diplomatic meetings in advance, his spokesperson said, as officials scrambled to contain the growing diplomatic firestorm over Israel’s disclosure that its top diplomat had met with his Libyan counterpart.

The exposure of the first-ever known encounter between Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers ignited angry street protests in several Libyan cities and sent Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush fleeing to Turkey for fear of her safety. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads one of the country’s rival governments, said he was temporarily suspending Mangoush from her position over the reported meeting. Libya has a history of unremitting hostility toward Israel.

Netanyahu sent the directive Tuesday to all government ministries, requesting they receive approval from his office before conducting any covert political talks. The order also asked that Netanyahu personally approve the publication of news concerning such sensitive meetings. A Netanyahu aide, Topaz Luk, said Netanyahu issued the order in response to fallout from the Libya scandal. It was not known if Netanyahu knew about Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s meeting with Mangoush ahead of time.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that Cohen met Mangoush in Rome last week in what it hailed as a “historic” step toward the normalization of ties with Libya. ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-libya-diplomatic-scandal-foreign-minister-meeting-crisis-normalization-78d087a13876f5a646c083c1eb3618fe

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Earlier DU threads:
• Libya suspends foreign minister after meeting with Israeli foreign minister
• Libya's foreign minister suspended, flees country after meeting with Israel's chief diplomat