On Thursday, the Government of Libya, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, dismissed Libya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Najla El-Mangoush, from her position following a meeting with Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Gabi Ashkenazi.
This dismissal is garnering a great deal of criticism among members of the Arab world, as the meeting with Ashkenazi was done without the consent and prior knowledge of the Government of Libya. The incident has elevated tensions in the region and raised questions about Libya’s foreign policy.
El-Mangoush, a well-respected ambassador in the Arab world, had only been appointed to her post in March 2021. After a video of her meeting with Ashkenazi emerged, the Government of Libya issued a statement on Thursday expressing its disapproval and saying that the foreign minister’s actions were “inconsistent with her post”.
The statement added that the foreign ministry would now be headed by interim foreign minister Mohamed Taher Siala, who will lead the ministry until a new Foreign Affairs Chief is appointed.
The meeting between El-Mangoush and Ashkenazi is seen as a landmark moment in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is the first time since 2000 that a Foreign Affairs Chief of Libya has met with an Israeli counterpart.
It is unclear at this time how the Libyan Government plans to move forward in terms of their foreign policy. Some analysts have speculated that the incident has caused a strain in relations between Libya and other Arab nations.
The incident has also caused a strong reaction from Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist organization which governs the Gaza Strip. The group criticized the Libyan government for its “undemocratic” decision to dismiss El-Mangoush in a statement which labeled the decision a “cowardly procedure”
While the dismissal of El-Mangoush may have been done in an effort to maintain stability in the region, it has only served to raise new questions about Libya’s foreign policy. It remains to be seen how the country will move forward, and who will guide it in the years to come.
