Following the suspension of Libya's foreign minister after it was revealed that she met with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Italy last week, Palestinian sources expressed satisfaction with the move.
A senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom that despite reports that the meeting was coordinated and informed by the Libyan prime minister of national accord, the minister's ouster was a necessary step and a natural reaction by the Libyan street and the Libyan government to the normalization meeting between the two sides. "Any meeting of this kind between Israel and any Arab side is a violation of the Arab Peace Initiative, which we hope Arab leaders will follow. Anyone who goes against it is a mistake," he said.
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al Mankush Photo: None
Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, photo: Reuters
The official added, "The anger on the Libyan street and the official responses of the government show what Libya's position is. Their prime minister went to the Palestinian embassy in the country and from there announced that there could be no normalization. This is a correct and good position, and we appreciate it. We and Libya have cooperation and contacts, only two months ago the Libyan labor minister visited Ramallah."
Palestinian sources said there was a good feeling in Ramallah and Fatah following what it described as "the failure of the attempt to advance normalization measures between Israel and Libya." At the same time, there is dissatisfaction that the effort to expand normalization with Israel continues, and even takes place under the table. "The PA is angry that Israel has become the Arab world's gateway to the United States, and that this is the way for them to reach the Americans, but on the other hand they are happy that the Libyan street stopped this move and that the minister was fired, like a message to say that 'Libya will not fall under the clutches of normalization,'" they explained.
Demonstrations in Libya against Foreign Minister's Meeting with Eli Cohen and Normalization with Israel
Another senior Fatah figure attacked the Libyan prime minister. "What happened does not make us happy or angry because the Libyan prime minister came out as a coward, a liar and fired his minister because he did not want to take responsibility," the official told Israel Hayom. "We are against Arab countries turning to relations with Israel before resolving the conflict with the Palestinians, but on the other hand, the heads of Arab states – it is up to them to decide."
The official added that he is convinced that even if conditions are created for normalization agreements between Israel and Libya, they will remain between the leaderships and will not expand to peace between the two peoples. "As happened in Egypt, Jordan, and also with the Emirates, we saw what happened at the World Cup. No one accepts the occupation, and as long as you don't have a solution with the Palestinians, you won't have relations between the peoples themselves."
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