The Hamas Movement has expressed its appreciation for Libya’s wide popular and official rejection of the Libyan foreign minister’s meeting with her Israeli counterpart that took place recently in Italy.
In press remarks on Monday Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said that such rejection of the meeting reflected the nobility of the Libyan people and their strong alignment with the Arab national issues especially the Palestinian cause.
Qasem called for more rejection of any normalization step towards the Israeli occupation state in the Arab and Islamic worlds stressing that the normalization of ties with the occupation harms the national interests of their countries in the first place and poses a great threat to the Palestinian cause.
Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen revealed on Sunday that he met with his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Rome last week
&ldquoI spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for relations between the two countries&rdquo Cohen said in a statement. He said the meeting was hosted by Italy’s foreign minister in Rome.
The meeting has sparked widespread anger in Libya among citizens and officials from different spectra while major political parties and noted national figures called for removing Mangoush from her post and taking legal action against her.
Citizens also organized angry rallies in some Libyan cities in protest at the meeting.
In this regard Libya’s prime minister suspended foreign minister Najla Mangoush on Sunday and referred her for investigation.
Libya’s foreign ministry also issued a statement affirming that Mangoush had rejected a meeting with representatives of Israel and that what had occurred was &ldquoan unprepared casual encounter at Italy’s foreign affairs ministry.”
The Libyan ministry’s statement said the meeting did not include &ldquoany discussions agreements or consultations&rdquo and added the ministry &ldquoreiterates its complete and absolute rejection of any type of normalization&rdquo with Israel.
