As Washington fumes over Libya debacle, Israeli PM denies knowledge of secret talks

News Desk - The Cradle 

US officials admonished Tel Aviv for endangering future normalization prospects with Arab nations

The fallout from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's decision to publicize details of a secret meeting with his former counterpart in Libya continues to hit Tel Aviv, as the White House is reportedly “fuming” over the damage the episode has caused to US-led normalization efforts.

Hebrew media reports say US Ambassador to Israel Stephanie Hallett met with Cohen late on 28 August to protest his move, calling it “concerning” and “a misstep that needed to be corrected.” An unnamed US official was quoted as saying that the debacle “killed” the conversation channel with Libya.

Channel 12 cited a Mossad agent as saying Cohen’s conduct “dealt immense damage to the ties formed in recent years,” adding: “He burned the bridge. It’s irreparable.”

In response to this latest crisis, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a directive demanding that his office approve all secret diplomatic gatherings.

The diplomatic firestorm started on Sunday when Cohen's office released a celebratory statement disclosing news of his meeting in Italy last week with former Libyan foreign minister Najla Mangoush and calling it “historic.”

Soon after the news broke, waves of protesters filled the streets in almost every city where Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) holds power, burning tires and Israeli flags, storming government buildings, and demanding the immediate dismissal and punishment of Mangoush. 

The former diplomat had to quickly flee Libya for Turkiye and later London, where her family resides. She was sacked a day later by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in a bid to quell protests.

But despite Dbeibeh's scapegoating of Mangoush, the office of the former foreign minister claims the premier personally approved of her meeting with Cohen. Furthermore, two Libyan officials revealed to AP that Dbeibeh met with CIA director William Burns in Tripoli last January to discuss normalizing relations with Israel.

The Italian foreign ministry facilitated last week's meeting, as Mangoush’s office revealed that Rome promised Dbeibeh to begin operating flights between Rome and Tripoli in return.

Under a 1957 law in Libya, it is illegal to have formal relations with Israel, as former president Muammar al-Gaddafi was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause. Pro-Palestinian sentiment has remained strong since a NATO-led bombing campaign and insurgency toppled Gaddafi's government in 2011 and plunged the country into chaos.

Israel's diplomatic fiasco comes at a time when the US is making a hard push to convince Saudi Arabia into normalizing ties with Tel Aviv.