Libyan war lord and presidential candidate Khalifa Haftar visited Israel
Israeli media has reported that both factions of Libyan leaders are in contact with Israeli officials
A private
jet belonging to Libyan warlord and presidential candidate Khalifa Haftar
landed in Israel on Thursday. The Dassault Falcon 900 plane took off from
Libya, landing briefly in Cyprus before heading to Israel, where it remained
for two hours before returning to Cyprus.
Haftar is
the head of the Libyan National Army, which fought a civil war against the
North African state’s internationally recognized government in 2014-2020.
His apparent
visit to Israel came days after Saudi and Libyan media reported that Libyan
Prime Minister Abdulhamid Mohammed Dbeibeh, a rival of Haftar, recently met
with Mossad director David Barnea in Jordan to discuss normalization with
Israel.
Dbeibeh’s
office denied the meeting took place, according to the reports. Haftar’s son
met with Israel intelligence officials last year, as well, according to
Haaretz.
In 2019, the
foreign minister of the Haftar-led government in eastern Libya expressed hope
that Libya could normalize relations with Israel.
Libya under Qaddafi (1969–2011)was a staunch supporter of Palestine cause. The elimination of Israel and support for Palestine was key elements of Qaddafi era’s foreign policy. He was a close friend and ally of PLO leader Yasir Arafat Since his ouster and subsequent killing, Libya is trying to normalise the relation with Israel.
Normalisation with Israel would likely be a difficult move for politicians in Libya, which has been embroiled in a civil war in recent years, to bring to fruition. The Libyan election, set for late December 2021, was postponed, and a new date was expected to be announced later this month.
Sudan
announced relations with Israel in late 2020, but its deep political divisions,
including a coup beginning in October, have not allowed for Normalisation to be
completed.
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