Libya’s Dbeibah Dismisses Foreign Minister Over Israel Meeting 

Tires burn on the road as people protest against the meeting which was held last week in Italy between foreign affairs ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2023. (Reuters)
Tires burn on the road as people protest against the meeting which was held last week in Italy between foreign affairs ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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Libya’s Dbeibah Dismisses Foreign Minister Over Israel Meeting 

Tires burn on the road as people protest against the meeting which was held last week in Italy between foreign affairs ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2023. (Reuters)
Tires burn on the road as people protest against the meeting which was held last week in Italy between foreign affairs ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2023. (Reuters)

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah has dismissed Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush after her meeting with her Israeli counterpart triggered protests, a Libyan government source said on Monday.

Dbeibah had earlier referred Mangoush for investigation over the meeting, which was the first ever between top diplomats of Libya and Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Mangoush met in Rome last week.

Cohen said they discussed the importance of preserving the heritage of Libya’s former Jewish community, including renovating synagogues and cemeteries. The talks also touched on possible Israeli assistance for humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The Libyan foreign ministry, meanwhile, sought to downplay the importance of the meeting as “unprepared and an unofficial meeting” during a meeting with Italy’s foreign minister. It said in a statement that Mangoush’s encounter with Cohen didn’t include “any talks, agreements or consultations.”

Dbeibah had earlier suspended Mangoush, suggesting he was not aware of the meeting. However, two senior Libyan government officials told The Associated Press he did know about the talks between his foreign minister and the Israeli chief diplomat.

One of the officials said Dbeibah gave the green light for the meeting last month when he was on a visit to Rome. His office arranged the encounter in coordination with Mangoush, he said.

The second official said the meeting lasted for about two hours and Mangoush briefed the prime minister directly after her return to Tripoli. The official said the meeting crowned US-brokered efforts to have Libya join a series of Arab countries establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

The official said normalization of relations between Libya and Israel was first discussed in a meeting between Dbeibah, and CIA Director William Burns, who visited the Libyan capital in January.

Dbeibah gave initial approval for joining the US-brokered Abraham Accords, but he was concerned about public backlash in a country known for its past support for the Palestinian cause, the official said.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.

Sunday’s announcement of the meeting prompted scattered protests in Tripoli, where the GNU is based, and other towns in western Libya. Protesters stormed the foreign ministry headquarters to condemn the meeting, while others attacked and burned a residence for the prime minister in Tripoli, according to local reports.

In the town of Zawiya protesters burned the Israeli flag, while others held the Palestinian flag. There were also protests in the city of Misrata, a stronghold for Dbeibah, according to footage circulated on social media and verified by The Associated Press.

Khalid al-Mishri, who was the chair of the State Council, a Tripoli-based legislative body, condemned the meeting and called for the dismissal of Dbeibah’s government.

“This government has crossed all prohibited lines and must be brought down,” he wrote on the X platform, previously known as Twitter.

The east-based House of Representatives also slammed the meeting as a “legal and moral crime.” It called for an emergency session Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi. Libya criminalizes normalization of ties with Israel, according to a 1957 law.

In Israel, Yair Lapid, a former foreign minister and prime minister, criticized Cohen for going public with the sensitive meeting.

“Countries of the world this morning are looking at the irresponsible leak of the meeting of the Israeli and Libyan foreign minister and asking themselves: is it possible to manage foreign relations with this country? Is it possible to trust this country?” Lapid said in a statement.



Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for White House talks on Monday, while Israeli officials held indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

Netanyahu's visit follows Trump's prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such an agreement could be reached this week. Before heading to Washington, the right-wing Israeli leader said his discussions with Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian group.

It was Trump's third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Trump then helped arrange a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war.

Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war.

He said he also wants to discuss with Netanyahu the prospects for a "permanent deal" with Iran, Israel's regional arch-foe.

The two leaders were scheduled to have a private dinner instead of formal talks in the Oval Office, where the president usually greets visiting dignitaries. It was not immediately clear why Trump was taking a lower-key approach with Netanyahu this time.

After arriving overnight in Washington, Netanyahu met earlier on Monday with Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in preparation for his talks with the president. He planned to visit the US Capitol on Tuesday to see congressional leaders.

Ahead of the visit, Netanyahu told reporters he would thank Trump for the US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and said Israeli negotiators were driving for a deal on Gaza in Doha, Qatar's capital.

Israeli officials also hope the outcome of the conflict with Iran will pave the way for normalization of relations with more of its neighbors such as Lebanon and Syria, another issue expected to be on the agenda with Trump.

SECOND DAY OF QATAR TALKS

Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the 60-day ceasefire proposal at the center of the Qatar negotiations, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

In a sign of continued gaps between the two sides, Palestinian sources said Israel's refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the indirect talks. Israel insists it is taking steps to get food into Gaza but seeks to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies.

On the second day of negotiations, mediators hosted one round and talks were expected to resume in the evening, the Palestinian sources told Reuters.

The US-backed proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.

Hamas has long demanded a final end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to halt fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.

Trump told reporters last week that he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal and that the Israeli leader also wanted to end the war.

Some of Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners oppose halting military operations but, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the Gaza war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire if he can secure acceptable terms.

A ceasefire at the start of this year collapsed in March, and talks to revive it have so far been fruitless. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution.

Gazans were watching closely for any sign of a breakthrough. “I ask God almighty that the negotiating delegation or the mediators pressure with all their strength to solve this issue, because it has totally became unbearable,” said Abu Suleiman Qadoum, a displaced resident of Gaza city.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump has been strongly supportive of Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics last month by lashing out at prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.