After al-Mangoush-Cohen meeting, Libya to amend normalization law
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After the scandal of the meeting that brought together the former Libyan Foreign Minister of the Government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Najla al-Mangoush and the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen, the Libyan parliament decided to amend the law criminalizing normalization with "Israel".
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People attend a protest against the meeting between Israeli Occupation Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla al-Mangoush in Tripoli, Libya, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. (AP)
The Libyan Parliament in the Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh government decided, during an emergency session called for by Parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, to form an investigation committee into the meeting of dismissed Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush with the Israeli Occupation Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
“The representatives agreed in the session to amend the law criminalizing normalization with Israel,” after al-Mangoush met with her Israeli counterpart in Rome, Italy.
Parliament discussed raising the ceiling of penalties dictated in Libyan Law No. 62, initially implemented in 1975, which criminalized normalization with “Israel.”
On September 1st, Dbeibeh expressed his rejection of normalization with the Zionist entity, in any form, following controversy over his Foreign Minister's secret meeting with the Cohen.
During a televised cabinet meeting in the capital, Tripoli, Dbeibeh stressed al-Mangoush's bias toward the interests of the people and defending the interests of the country. He continued that this requires her to bear the consequences of the latest violation, adding that the details of what happened in Rome will be unveiled through the ongoing investigations.
Dbeibeh described al-Mangoush's secret meeting with Cohen as a "big deal", even if it was a "side meeting", claiming that there were some "sides that exploited the incident to settle political scores and cause chaos in the country."
"We affirm our rejection of any form of normalization," Dbeibeh said.
"Long live Libya, long live Palestine, and long live the Palestinian cause in all of our hearts."
It is noteworthy that al-Mangoush's office claimed that the meeting took place with the permission of Dbeibeh.
Angry #Libyans took to the streets after last week’s meeting between the foreign ministers of "Israel" and #Libya was exposed. pic.twitter.com/VrwWGrBOUp
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 28, 2023
The Libyan National Authority against Normalization and Supporting the Resistance previously condemned al-Mangoush's secret meeting in Rome with "one of the criminals of the Israeli entity," in reference to Cohen, demanding that legal measures be taken against her and Dbeibeh, in addition to passing a law criminalizing normalization.
Against the backdrop of al-Mangoush's meeting with the Israeli occupation Foreign Minister, Dbeibeh issued a decision to officially dismiss the country's top diplomat and refer her to an investigation.
Read more: Netanyahu throws FM Cohen under the bus on Libya meeting backlash
