Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Netanyahu throws FM Cohen under the bus on Libya meeting backlash

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Sep 2023 16:15
3 Min Read

The occupation's prime minister says that he issued an order to all ministers that all normalization meetings must be approved by his office beforehand.

  • x
  • Netanyahu throws his FM Cohen under the bus on Libya meeting backlash
    Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minster Eli Cohen during a cabinet meeting in occupied Al-Quds on July 9, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement directed at his foreign minister, seemingly as a means to reassert his authority to put the minister back into his place and escape the political backlash in response to the recent incident involving Libya.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla Al-Mangoush held a clandestine meeting in Italy in mid-August, to explore possibilities for the normalization of relations between Tripoli and "Tel Aviv".

The secret meeting made it to Israeli headlines, while Cohen was accused of being behind the leak as part of a PR stunt. This is despite Israeli media reports stating that the meeting was “coordinated at the highest levels,” referring to Netanyahu and his Libyan counterpart.

Al-Mangoush's office also said that the meeting took place with the permission of Libya's Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.

Yair Lapid, the head of the Israeli opposition, expressed his concerns that the meeting was disclosed by the Israeli government.

“The global community is looking this morning at Israel’s irresponsible leak of the Libya foreign ministers meeting," he said, adding that world countries are asking themselves today whether they can conduct foreign relations with the entity, or if they can trust it.

Related News

Erdogan: Netanyahu ‘ideologically like a relative of Hitler’

Post-colonial neoliberalism is reshaping Arab cities one by one

The announcement also sparked mass public outrage in Tripoli of Libyans rejecting normalization attempts with the occupation entity, during which citizens burned the Israeli flag and pictures of both al-Mangoush and Cohen.

Read more: Libyans burn Israeli flag in protest of normalization meeting 

After the news went viral, Tripoli's government suspended Al-Mangoush from her role and opened a probe against her. But the shamed former top diplomat escaped the country with local reports stating that she fled to Turkey.

"I've issued a directive to all our government ministers that such meetings of this kind have to be cleared in advance with my office, and certainly their publication has to be cleared in advance with my office," Netanyahu told Cypriot TV station ANT1 when asked about making the meeting public.

"It is not helpful, now that's clear."

The prime minister confirmed that the entity maintains a policy of secrecy regarding relations and contacts with some Arab and Muslim countries, describing the incident as "an exception to the rule."

Read more: PIJ condemns Libya-'Israel' normalization meeting

  • Libya
  • Najla Mangoush
  • Israel
  • Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Tripoli
  • Eli Cohen

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
UKLFI’s latest faux pas, like "Israel’s" recent failed attempt at regime change in Iran, is unambiguously indicative of a flailing entity on the verge of extinction. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Zionist lawfare operation facing collapse?

  • Opinion
  • 13 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS