Libya’s prime minister has rejected the prospect of normalising relations with Israel, days after news broke of a secret meeting between the countries’ two foreign ministers.
“We affirm our rejection of any form of normalisation,” Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said during a televised ministerial meeting on Thursday evening.
“Long live Libya, long live Palestine, and long live the Palestinian cause in all of our hearts,” he remarked.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Dbeibah’s remarks.
The clandestine meeting between the top diplomats of both countries ignited angry street protests in several Libyan cities, prompting sacking of Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush.
“Unfortunately, there was an individual in the government who acted independently,” Dbeibah said in reference to the Rome meeting.
Harsh measures would be taken in response, he added, but provided no further details.
Last Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen publicly announced that he and Libya’s Mangoush had held a private meeting in Rome the previous week, the first ever between top diplomats from both countries.
The next day, Dbeibah suspended Mangoush and launched an investigation into the meeting.
It is illegal to normalise ties with Israel under a 1957 law in Libya, which has long been supportive of the Palestinians and their cause to liberate their lands occupied by Israel.
Source: TRTworld.com