Najla El Mangoush, the former Foreign Minister of Libya, appeared in her first media interview since her dismissal from her post in August 2023. The minister was suspended by the prime minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) following leaks regarding her meeting with the former Israeli foreign minister. The meeting took place in Rome, Italy in mid August 2023 and was supposed to remain a secret. However, news broke a week later despite attempts by Libyan officials to initially deny the rumors. The news caused an uproar across the North African country, with protests in major urban centers taking place along with widespread online denouncements.
In the interview released today, El Mangoush stated that the meeting was arranged for her by the GNU, claiming that it only concerned security issues and did not involve any conversation on potential normalization. However, many Libyans find this claim irrelevant, as Libyan law prohibits meetings of any kind with Israeli officials. The suspended minister acknowledged that public sentiment across the country remains overwhelmingly against normalization.
In its latest survey of Libya, conducted in early 2022, Arab Barometer asked Libyans for their views on the normalization of relations between some Arab countries and Israel. Three-quarters (73 percent) of Libyans said they strongly oppose normalization, while a fifth (19 percent) said they oppose it. Fewer than one-in-ten (seven percent) expressed their support for normalization efforts. This already low level of support is likely to be even lower today in the aftermath of the Israeli war on Gaza following October 7, 2023. El Mangoush’s recent interview has further heightened public sentiments against normalization, amplifying existing frustrations and causing a renewed uproar in Libyan streets.
